Here We Go Again
by Bigtime Day-Dreamer
Summary: Five years ago, the six Kadic students thought they had left the factory for good. Now, however, their old enemy is brought back and is ready to pick up where he left off. And to make matters worse, a new group of people barge in and label the Lyoko Warriors as the enemy.
1. Chapter 1: Restart

**All characters belong to their respective owners. Please review!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Restart**

"Thunk!"

The outside door handle broke off as a man heaved the door open against the intense wind. Closing the door behind him, he tossed the handle to the side in frustration, hearing the metal clang as it hit the floor. He looked around briefly and then began walking down the hall.

Outside, the cold wind blew across the frozen tundra. The research facility in the middle of northern Siberia all appeared to have been abandoned for a few decades. The inside of the facility told a different story. All over the facility were robots frozen in position. Some were standing in what appeared to be an army formation; others in mid-stride; and others appeared to have been firing at something.

Not a soul moved about the facility save for this man. His gait was quick yet cautious, as if the robots were going to come to life. It seemed that he knew where he was going, or at least what he was looking for. His long black cloak that covered his head billowed behind him, rustling the dust that had collected on the floor. He also wore black leather gloves and black dress shoes. Underneath the cloak, he wore a black business suit with a black tie. His entire outfit strangely did not seem to fit with the frozen environment outside. There was a very intricate pin, outlined in gold, attached to the collar of his suit. He had a piece of paper in one hand, and a golden pocket watch chain could be seen from one of the suit pockets.

At the end of the hallway, he looked down at the piece of paper. Turning, he opened a door on his right and walked into the room. The room consisted of a dome in the center with wires coming out of it and heading up into the ceiling. The man clearly had no interest in the hard drive of this massive computer. He walked around it into a room with several monitors; a couple of them paired with a keyboard.

Sitting down at one of the monitors, the man took off his gloves and looked around for a power switch. Most would try turning the generator on first, but the paper told him that the large computer system controlled the generator. Feeling a large switch behind the keyboard, he pressed it, and the monitor in front of him whirred to life.

Raising an eyebrow, the man had clearly expected for the entire facility to power on. But he didn't dwell on it for long. He started to type on the keyboard when a message appeared on the screen. It had two sentences: **"Выполнить программы? Да или нет?"** Unfamiliar with the Russian language, and slightly unfamiliar with computers, the man typed "English" on the keyboard. The window closed and reopened again but this time read, **"Run the program? Yes or no?"**

Not interested in any program, the man pressed the Esc key, closing the window. The screen remained black however, almost daring the man to try typing on the keyboard again. Irritated, he moved the mouse around to get something else on the monitor. The message appeared back on the screen, in Russian. He pressed the Esc key again, and the window closed. He went to start typing again, when the same window popped back up. After pressing the Esc key again, the message disappeared. He moved the mouse around again. A different window popped up, saying, **"You've tried that already."** It closed, and the first window reopened again in English this time.

Sighing in exasperation, the man realized that running the program was the only option available to him. He pressed the Enter key. The window closed, and a loading bar appeared on the screen. A soft humming sound was heard as the generator kicked on. At 10%, the Supercomputer whirred to life, and all the monitors in the room powered on. At 20%, the loading bar appeared on another monitor. The man blew on his hands and rubbed them, trying to warm them up. At 30%, the loading bar appeared on a couple more monitors.

At 40%, the loading bar was on all of the monitors. At 50%, the man heard sparks coming from the hard drive of the Supercomputer. Getting out of his chair, he walked back to the room with the hard drive. As soon as he opened the door, he had to shield his eyes from an extremely bright light. After allowing his eyes to adjust, he looked again and saw hundreds of sparks flying around the room in a circular pattern. He wiped his brow of the sweat that started to form because of the sudden warmth in the room. He glanced back at the monitors – 60%.

Then the sparks, stilling flying in a circular motion, began to converge to a single point to the right of the hard drive – 65%.

As more sparks came together, a dark shape began forming in the center. The shape started out circular. After a minute or two, it began to grow five appendages, almost like legs, arms, and a head – 70%.

The lights flickered crazily in the room. Charges of electricity ran up and down the walls and across the floor. The man was terrified now, wondering what on Earth he had unleashed – 75%.

Having no more interest in what was going on in that room or in retrieving his gloves, the man was running, running like his life depended on it with the flickering of the lights and the charges following shortly behind him. He wanted to get out of the facility, **NOW**. – 80%.

The man turned a corner and ducked as one of the robots swiped at his head. It then went motionless as he continued without stopping. The electricity charges passed him, and doors began opening on their own accord. Desks, pens, files of paper, books, bookshelves, and chairs flew out from side rooms into the man's path. It was as if the research facility was trying to keep him in there, preventing his escape – 85%.

The man passed by a window. Outside, he saw the cold blizzard raging wilder than ever. Lighting streaked across the sky in many different shades of white, green, blue, purple, red, grey, yellow, and the most horrifying shades of black– 90%.

The thunder began and was so incredibly loud that it shook the walls. Debris fell from the ceiling and, instead of falling straight down, zoomed toward the man. The man sidestepped, ducked, dodged, jumped, and avoided all of the obstacles the facility was throwing at him. Through the thunder, he heard maniacal laughter coming from the room he had left only moments ago – 95%.

The man reached the door. He grasped the handle to open it and got electrocuted for a good ten seconds. Falling to the ground and gasping for breath, he looked up at the window, and a strange, reddish, eye-looking symbol glowed from the glass. He stood up and fumbled through his cloak for the pocket watch. Suddenly, the door handle he tossed to the side earlier slammed into the back of his head. As his world went dark, he heard a deep voice whisper in his ear, "Going somewhere?" – 100%.


	2. Chapter 2: Reappearance

******Chapter 2: Reappearance**

"Aargh!" Ulrich shouted as another goal was made against his football team. They were losing 3-1 with ten minutes left in the game. His coach signaled for a substitution when the ball went out of bounds and motioned for Ulrich and a couple of other players to head to the sidelines.

It was nearing the end of August, and seventeen-year-old Ulrich Stern's summer league co-ed team was in the championship game. They had outplayed all of their previous opponents, leading by at least three goals by the end of each game. This team, however, was different. They would adjust within a few seconds to each play Ulrich's team tried. What was worse, at least for Ulrich, was that Sissi Delmas was on that team. She had contributed to two of her team's three goals. If her team won, Ulrich would never hear the end of it.

When he got to the sidelines, his coach pulled the players to the side. The 30-something-year-old man rarely turned away from the field during a game unless it was extremely important.

"Okay, listen," he began. "We need to start making some good plays out there. Right now, all but two of you," he looked at Ulrich and William Dunbar, "are still flustered from their performance in the first half! Focus on the present, not the past! You guys take a couple minutes break and then you're going back out there. Aelita, I need to talk to you."

Aelita had not been on the team for very long. She joined the team halfway through the season and twisted her ankle in her first game, forcing her into an ankle brace. She finally got it off last week, but the tournament had already started, and it had been too risky to let her play. At least, until now. Ulrich was partially worried she was going to hurt herself again.

He and William had become slightly distant since...well, _that thing _was trying to kill them. The only thing that had kept them slightly connected was Ulrich's girlfriend, Yumi Ishiama. Even Odd Della Robia had become distanced ever since Ulrich and William began focusing more on football.

The ball went out of bounds again with five minutes left, and Ulrich, William, and Aelita jogged onto the field.

"Good luck, princess," Ulrich muttered to Aelita, using her old nickname.

"Just try to keep up," she replied with a smile.

The ball was thrown back in, and the game resumed. One girl immediately stole the ball and charged ahead, weaving this way and that through Ulrich's teammates. Ulrich went to slide tackle, but the girl, stopped the ball with her foot and kept going as he slid past. Turning around, Ulrich saw William looking to try the same move. The girl, anticipating his move, stopped the ball again just short of William's imminent slide. But William didn't slide. He kept running at the girl and blasted the ball away from her down the field. The ball flew over Ulrich's head and landed several yards away from him. Before he could begin heading towards it, however, Aelita came from out of nowhere and started dribbling towards the other goal.

The other team could barely keep up with her. She changed direction every five seconds, easily avoiding the other players. Ulrich and William kept right behind her the entire time, preventing players from coming up from behind. Then, the two very large defenders began closing in on Aelita. Ulrich hung back a bit, noticing that he had a clear shot and no one else had spotted him. Only briefly glancing out of the corner of her eye, Aelita stopped the ball but continued running forward without it. The defenders didn't immediately react. William, who had stayed right with her, took that opportunity to turn and quickly pass the ball out to Ulrich. The ball hadn't even rested at Ulrich's feet for a second before he kicked it into the back of the net. The score was now 3-2.

The other team kicked off, and William got the ball. In a similar fashion, he, Aelita, and Ulrich ran through the opposition with the ball with little to no trouble, and scored within a minute. With three minutes left, the game was tied 3-3.

Sissi, who had been on the sidelines earlier, now kicked off but not very forcefully. One boy stopped the ball, but Sissi had already stolen it from him before he had a chance to move. Before she could get too far, Aelita was soon upon her. Sissi could not shake Aelita and was forced to pass. However, Ulrich intercepted the pass and began dribbling down the field. Sissi took off after him, leaving Aelita in the dust.

"Man on," his coach yelled when Sissi had gotten within five feet of Ulrich. He then passed it off to William to his right, but an opposing player intercepted it. There were two minutes left.

That player and Sissi managed to get to the penalty box before the player made a shot at the goal. It was a poor shot, and the goalkeeper easily got the ball. Scowling, Sissi turned to jog back to center of the field. With Sissi's back turned, the goalkeeper tossed the ball to Aelita, who had hung back a bit. She quickly began dribbling the ball down the field. One minute left in the game.

Confused as to why she hadn't seen the ball yet, Sissi turned around to look for the ball. In that moment, Aelita passed the ball ahead to Ulrich. Ulrich ran with the ball, dodging each of the opposing players. But he could tell that Sissi was gaining on him. When he got to the penalty box, he saw William running up on his right out of the corner of his eye. Sending the ball a couple feet farther than normal, Ulrich slowed down to stop Sissi and let William have the ball. Ten seconds left.

William immediately sent the ball across the field in the air to where Aelita had been waiting, unguarded. The ball was a little too high though. Aelita didn't back up. Instead, she jumped at least a foot into the air, spun about, and did what looked similar to a roundhouse kick to the ball towards the goal. The force and speed of the ball was so great that, even though the blonde goalkeeper had caught the ball, it knocked him across the line and in the goal.

It was in that moment Ulrich finally noticed the crowd, which erupted into cheers and applause. Grinning from ear to ear, he looked at William, who also was in a wide grin. He glanced back at Aelita, who was still on the ground. Jogging over to her, Ulrich reached out a hand to her. Smiling, she grabbed it and pulled herself up.

* * *

"Show off," Odd told Aelita an hour later after the championship trophy was awarded and the teams had showered.

She shoved him and said, "Thanks for the support."

"No problem!" he said with a grin.

Ignoring Odd, Yumi said, "You really were amazing out there, Aelita. I guess gymnastics really had come in handy."

"I was kinda hoping I could pull some moves like that today," Aelita replied.

In the years since fighting _that monster_, Aelita had become a very involved student at Kadic Academy. For one, she and William were the DJs for all of the school dances. They had even been paid to do several other gigs around town and had become local favorites. Aelita loved doing that the most. She was also on the school science club, which occasionally competed against other schools in the city. She had originally gotten involved because of Jeremie Belpois. But now, she kept with it because of what the group did.

Besides that, she also started getting into sports. Within a month of leaving the factory forever, she started gymnastics. She had learned that her mother almost went to the Olympics in gymnastics so she wanted to follow suit. She had come in first place in three competitions so far. She recently got involved in football this summer to see if she wanted to be on the girls team at Kadic. And yet, she was still able to maintain a 100% average in all of her classes.

Another thing that had changed for all of them was their physical appearances. Odd had finally gotten over his scrawniness a year ago and now has a decent amount of muscle to his body, but he is still a little scrawny. He also changed his hairstyle from the Lyoko imitation to just a simple crew cut because it was less work to maintain. Both Ulrich and William had gotten very tall, even taller than Yumi. William matched Ulrich's height and had gained several pounds of pure muscle. Yumi's hair had grown long and reached down to the middle of her back. She still wore dark colors but the amount of black she wore had diminished slightly. She continued to refuse to wear anything with pink in it. Aelita had also gotten taller but kept her hair the way it was. She had tried having it longer once, but disliked it immensely.

Back to the present, William and Ulrich jogged up to the trio. "That was fantastic," William said. "I wish you could've gone in earlier. Probably would've prevented some of those goals."

"The coach told me before the game started that I'd go in when the chances of winning became slim," Aelita replied.

"Good thing he did," Ulrich stated. "Just out of curiosity, why did you join the team?"

"That'd be because of me," said Sissy, walking up to them. "I convinced her to do it, although I now think that might not have been a good idea." They all laughed.

"Come on," Yumi said, taking Ulrich's hand. "I think it's time we all go out to lunch. Especially with school starting tomorrow." They all headed to the parking lot.

"Oh wait," Aelita said, stopping suddenly. "I left my water bottle back in the locker room. I'll be right back."

She quickly jogged over to the girls' locker room. Looking about, she at first didn't see it, but then saw it underneath a bench near the showers. Sighing, she picked it up. She walked briskly out of the locker room while opening her bag to put her water bottle in, not watching where she was going.

"Oomph," she uttered as she bumped into someone and most of the contents of her bag fell to the ground.

"Oh gosh. I'm terribly sorry about that," the guy she bumped into said. "Here, let me help you." He stooped down next to her, grabbing different odds and ends and putting them in her bag.

"Thanks," Aelita said in reply. She glanced up to look at him.

He had bright blonde hair and was about her height. He was also very muscular, obviously from years of lifting weights. His large biceps bulged from outside his light blue polo shirt just from picking up her Chapstick. When he turned around to pick up her cleats, she had to look away to avoid blushing. What struck her most though were his eyes. They were a brilliant bright blue. She felt like she knew him from somewhere.

Standing up, he said, "That was a pretty impressive kick out there by the way. Did you get that kind of move from gymnastics or something?"

"Thanks," she replied, picking up her bag. "And yes, I did. I've been doing gymnastics for a couple years now."

"Neat," the boy said. "I tried it once but I was too clumsy." He paused for a moment.

"Do I know you?" she asked, breaking up the awkward silence.

Chuckling, the guy responded, "Yeah. I was the goalie you left a football sized bruise on his chest."

"Oh wow! Sorry about that," Aelita said quickly.

"It's fine," he replied. Then he whispered into her ear, "You also know me as the guy who turned the Supercomputer on after your dad shut it off on the inside."

Aelita froze, wondering what he was talking about. She looked straight into his eyes, trying to detect any perception of a lie. Then her mouth dropped. She realized right then and there where she had seen those eyes before.

"Jeremie!"


	3. Chapter 3: Reunion

**Chapter 3: Reunion**

Pulling away, she said, "Wow, you've changed a lot. I clearly didn't recognize you. How...? What...?"

Jeremie smiled and put an arm around her. "C'mon. I think everyone is waiting and I'd rather have to explain myself once."

Catching up to everyone else, Jeremie introduced himself. They were all in shock and were so happy to see him.

"What happened to you?" Yumi exclaimed.

"Yeah, did you get into an accident?" Ulrich asked.

Chuckling, Jeremie held up his hands before Odd or William could ask their own questions. "Do you think we could go to lunch first and then I can explain myself?"

"I like the way you think!" Odd exclaimed. "Come on. Let's get going!"

They all headed to the parking lot. Ulrich and Yumi went over to Ulrich's motorcycle. It was a gift from his dad when he had turned his grades around. Yumi tossed a set of keys to Aelita, who walked over to a jet-black Camaro convertible with a pink racing stripe down the center of the car. It officially was Yumi's but since she didn't want anything that had pink on it, she gave it to Aelita to have.

"Shot gun," Odd called, beating William to the Camaro. Grumbling, William opened the door to the back seat and got in with Sissi. Meanwhile, Jeremie had walked over to the large, navy blue pickup truck that was parked on the other side of the motorcycle and had climbed in.

"Follow me," Ulrich said to Aelita and Jeremie. "There's this new deli not too far from here. Their sandwiches are better than any I have ever had." And with a roar of the motorcycle's engine, he and Yumi were off. Aelita and Jeremie followed shortly after.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Ulrich parked his motorcycle in a relatively small parking lot that overlooked the river. The other two parked on either side of him. The deli had a bright red and green sign along the front wall of the building that read "World of Sandwiches" in golden script letters across the top. Interestingly enough, the front wall faced the parking lot rather than the street like most of the other food shops. It had a large selection of tables outside that wrapped around two sides of the building with tables and umbrellas in the front and a patio underneath a large green and white-striped overhang facing the river.

"Wow," William said, getting out.

"Why hadn't I known about this?" Odd wondered aloud.

"If you think the outside is impressive, wait until you get inside," Ulrich said, taking off his helmet and helping Yumi off the motorcycle.

"What do you think about it, Aelita?" Jeremie asked, turning in her direction.

She didn't respond. In fact, she wasn't even facing the deli. She was looking off in the distance. The others turned to face her and looked in the direction she was looking. At first, they wondered if she was deep in thought. Then, they saw it. Further up the river, perhaps about half a mile, was the factory. It sat in the middle of the river just as quiet as it usually did. The only difference in it since the last time they saw it was that there were more green vines crawling up the outer walls.

They all stared at it in silence for a few minutes, Sissi included. A few months after they had shut the Supercomputer down, they finally decided to tell her about their multiple Saving-the-World adventures on Lyoko. She respected them even more after that. Plus, she didn't get angry with them for not telling her. Her reasoning for that was that she felt that she wouldn't have been able to handle that kind of secret – they conveniently failed to mention to her that she had ratted them out on multiple occasions.

William walked over to Aelita and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on," he said, gently tugging her in the direction of the deli. She didn't resist. They remained silent until they were inside the deli.

The outside made it look smaller than it really was. The place was huge. In the center of the deli were dozens of tables of all different shapes and sizes. Some tables had chairs, some had benches, and others were part of booths. There were also some lounging chairs, couches, a fireplace, a magazine rack, and a set of shelves that had playing cards and board games. Along the left wall were mostly doors to the patio outside but an ice cream counter sat in between two sets of doors. Along the right wall was a counter with stools to sit on as well as numerous popular movie posters. All around the interior, and even on the patio, were televisions playing sports channels or news channels. But what struck the group most was the back wall, which had many different sandwich counters and very different menu options for each counter.

"What's with all the different menus?" asked Jeremie. "Surely there can't be _that_ many different sandwiches."

"Oh but there are," Ulrich replied, quickly explaining. "Each menu is for a different type of cuisine. They've got French, Spanish, British, American, Indian, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, German, Australian, and so on and so on. You name a nationality; they provide that nationality's popular sandwiches. They don't just make sandwiches either. They make various soups and salads for each counter as well." He pointed to a chalkboard that was slightly off to their right. "Here is where they say what new menu they added this month and where the next menu is voted. You just simply pick up a piece of chalk and put a mark in the space underneath the one you want."

"They recently added an Italian menu," Aelita read, very impressed.

"And the choices for the next menu are Swedish, Mongolian, and Egyptian," Sissi continued for her. "I think I might like the Mongolian, but the Swedish sounds good too."

"They have a special on pizzas this week?" Odd asked, reading further on the sign.

"They usually feature a non-sandwich food item from anywhere in the world for the week," Ulrich explained, but Odd hadn't heard. He had already sped off, looking for the source of the pizza.

"Like Odd so graciously pointed out," William said. "Enough talk, let's eat."

* * *

"Wow that was good," sighed Yumi, wiping the corners of her mouth with her napkin.

"For the first time in my life," Odd said, leaning back in his chair. "I'm stuffed." They had sat out on the patio where a tree conveniently blocked their view of the factory.

Turning to Jeremie, Aelita said, "So, tell us what happened since you left Kadic Academy."

As the others became more involved in other things, the more distant Jeremie had become. On more than one occasion, Jeremie had told them he was going to be at an event of theirs but never showed. He had even expressed dislike of Aelita's involvement in so many things. After a few months of that, Aelita had gotten fed up with Jeremie's attitude towards her activities and decided it was time to end their relationship.

He didn't take it well. He had remained locked up in his room for a few days. None of the others could do anything to get him out. Aelita even tried to knock some sense into him and told him to grow up and get over it. And by that point, knocking some sense into Jeremie meant beating him over the head with his own textbooks.

That got him at least out of his room, but he was very gloomy and silent for many weeks after. He did not remain in contact with any of them that summer. When the summer break was over, they learned he had transferred to a different school in the city. They were all sad when they heard the news. They called him a couple of times and learned that he had been offered a huge scholarship by the other school that would follow him through high school and through college. It was an opportunity his parents couldn't pass up. He missed the rest of them greatly and promised to try to email them on a regular basis to stay in touch. Unfortunately, that had gone to the wayside.

"Going to a new school was difficult," Jeremie began. "But, what you guys said finally clicked and I knew what I had to do."

"Did our advice really sink in then," Odd asked. "Or the instant when Aelita's notebook made contact with the back of your head?"

Chuckling, Jeremie replied, "A little bit of both. Anyway, I decided that I had to get involved in other things besides my computer. Now, physical fitness is huge over there, even to the point that personal trainers are provided for students free of charge. So, I signed up for one and began getting bigger and stronger, with the goal of making the football team. Besides my training and schoolwork, I didn't do much else. I looked at their science club, but most of them were stuck up and had _way_ too big egos.

"The following school year began, and tryouts for the team was the second week. I was trying out for the keeper position. And I got it. Because of the intense training I had the previous year, I had crushed any other competition. I was able to throw and kick the ball farther than any of the others trying out. That season, I had also been given the chance to play as a midfielder whenever the coaches needed. We won our division, and I was MVP for the whole season."

"Nice!" Ulrich replied, clapping Jeremie on the back.

Jeremie continued, "After football season, I tried to follow Aelita's example and do gymnastics. I wasn't too bad, but I wasn't extremely good either. Plus, it just didn't do anything for me. I did it for about a month before I just couldn't do it anymore.

"At the same time I was doing gymnastics, I was working towards the wrestling season," he said, grinning slightly. "It was the next goal I made for myself. I even worked for it towards the end of the football season. When most of the other wrestlers focused on trying to lose enough weight to be at the top of their class, I focused on building more and more muscle to get to the top. My trainer was great, too. She helped me the whole way and was very supportive of all of my efforts." He failed to notice that Aelita's eyebrows shot up right when he said the word _she_. "I'd say I did a fairly decent job in it."

"Fairly decent?" Sissi asked, incredulously. "I overheard my dad mention something about a Jeremie who came from nowhere and won a regional championship his first year. I never figured it was you until I saw you that first day of summer football practice."

"Wait, you knew he was your keeper the whole summer?" Ulrich asked. "And you never bothered to tell us?"

Jeremie held up his hands. "She didn't tell you because I asked her not to. I wanted to wait and then surprise you guys."

"Well," William said, putting a hand on Jeremie's shoulder. "Mission accomplished."

"Now, what happened to your glasses?" Yumi asked. "Did you get contacts?"

Jeremie shook his head. "I had gotten laser eye surgery done last year so I would never have to wear corrective lenses of any kind ever again."

"Hold on," Aelita said firmly, looking Jeremie in the eyes. "This is all well and good, but I'm still not convinced that you've moved on completely." The others looked as if she had just spoke in Swahili. Jeremie, on the other hand, stared right at her for a few moments, contemplating what she might have meant. Then, he sighed.

"Yes, Aelita," he said to her. "I have even gotten over you." He paused.

"Choose your words wisely," Odd said in between fake coughs. Aelita, still staring at Jeremie, smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

"Unlike myself," Jeremie said slowly. "You moved on from the events in the factory rather quickly. Much quicker than what I was ready for at that time. But you…convinced me that I had to move on faster, and you were right. I have moved on, gotten over you, and have a girlfriend."

"Did you find her in your cell phone this time instead of your computer?" Yumi asked. He laughed.

"No, I didn't," he replied. "She's my trainer. After spending all that time in the gym, we started hanging out. And slowly, it evolved into us being together for a year now."

At that moment, Jeremie's phone rang, and he pulled it out of his duffle bag and answered it.

"Oh hi Hun," he said. "Yeah, I'm at this amazing deli. I'm having lunch with my old friends from Kadic." He paused. "Yeah. I don't think they'd mind if you joined us." He looked to the others for confirmation. They all shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, it's fine." He then got up to tell her how to get the place.

Making sure her back was toward Jeremie, Sissi whispered to the others, "I don't think I have ever heard Jeremie call anybody 'Hun.' Have you?" They all shook their heads.

He came back a few minutes later. "That was my girlfriend," he said to them, sitting back down. "She'll be here in a minute or two. And before she gets here, just know that her looks are _not_ what I first fell for." Everyone looked confused save for Aelita, whose eyes narrowed a bit.

A few minutes later, they heard a voice from the doorway say, "Hey Jeremie!" Standing up, Jeremie walked over in that direction and, a girl with dark red hair wrapped her arms around Jeremie's neck. Ulrich and Odd, who had the best view of her, were wide-eyed with their mouths slightly open in shock. The couple untangled themselves and began heading towards the others, Jeremie saying something to her.

"No way," Ulrich muttered.

"Not a chance," Odd said, uncertainty dominant in his voice.

"It can't be," Yumi said, as the two came closer.

"How could it?" Sissi asked.

"This has _got_ to be some sort of twisted, practical joke," thought Aelita.

"Everyone," Jeremie said, avoiding Aelita's eyes. "This is my girlfriend, Taelia."

* * *

**_Please review!_**


	4. Chapter 4: Remembering

**A/N:_ It is unclear as to what age Aelita was when her mother had been kidnapped other than the fact she was a young girl. I have placed her as being ten years old in this story._**

**_Please review!_**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Remembering**

Aelita's jaw dropped. She had never met or seen the girl because Taelia had left Kadic Academy before Jeremie had successfully materialized Aelita out of Lyoko. She had always wondered how Jeremie had confused this girl for herself. Not anymore.

When Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi had met Taelia before, she was about Odd's height and kept to herself quietly. Now, however, she was about Ulrich's height, and her eyes gave away a very high self-confidence. She wore an athletic tank top and some pink running shorts, both of which showing off her athletic figure.

"Hi guys," she said, breaking the silence. "I remember seeing most of you before at Kadic. But I don't believe we've met." She looked at William.

"The name's William Dunbar," he said, standing up and offering his hand to her. She shook it and smiled at him. When she looked away from him, William's eyes looked her over once. Looking at Jeremie, he gave a thumbs-up.

Rolling her eyes, Taelia said exasperatedly, "I saw that, William." She turned and faced Aelita, whose heart was racing for reasons unknown. "Now, I know we have never met, but my guess is your Aelita. You and Jeremie used to go out."

Aelita looked at her quizzically for a moment, then her eyes drifted to meet Jeremie's. He gave her a sheepish grin. Facing Taelia again, she said, "And my guess is that a blonde, block-headed birdy told you that information."

Chuckling, Taelia pulled up a chair next to Aelita and sat down. "Those were exactly the words I used," she said. "But don't worry. I punched him in the gut enough times for both of us." She cracked her knuckles a bit, and the two girls laughed as Jeremie squirmed uncomfortably.

"So Taelia, how have you been since you left Kadic?" Ulrich quickly asked, changing the subject for Jeremie's sake.

"I've been just fine," she replied. "I got a free ride to the school that both Jeremie and I go now, which is the main reason behind why I left Kadic in the first place. I was a little shy, but a now good friend of mine showed me around and got me out of my little box. I really got into cross-country and track and field. I even took some classes so I could be one of the personal trainers for the school.

"And that is actually how Jeremie and I met. I had been a trainer for just about two years and hadn't gotten a lot of people, mostly those who were looking to try another way of working out or to lose weight. But then they assign me this blonde skinny boy with very large glasses to get him into the best physical shape that he can be.

"My first thoughts were 'Oh boy' when I had actually met him in person. But he proved to me that he knew how to push himself. He really only needed to be told what exercise he had to do next. We started to chat during our workouts. He told me where he used to go to school. I told him I used to go there a few years back, and then it hit us both like a ton of bricks. Our first date was during the holiday break. By that point, he had gotten pretty fit and was already able to run five kilometers in under thirty minutes."

"To say the date went well would have been an understatement," Jeremie continued to explain. "It was amazing. A week later, we had gone on two more dates and decided to make it official. However, it has been a little scary sometimes, mainly because she would say things exactly how Aelita would."

"And he still acts weird about it," Taelia said, glaring at him slightly. "So what kind of things do you guys do?"

They each told her, one by one, what activities they were involved in. She responded with genuine interest, especially with Ulrich and Yumi's training in Pencak Silat.

"Plus," William was explaining later. "Aelita and I are the school DJs for dances. We are so popular that we have even gotten some paid gigs around town."

"Wow," Taelia mused. "Remind me to come listen hear you two sometime." She then turned to Aelita. "Besides that and kicking footballs into my boyfriend's stomach, what else do you do?"

"I compete with the science club and on the gymnastics team," Aelita replied.

"That's incredible. My mother did gymnastics when she was in high school," Taelia said. "At least, that's what they told me."

"What do you mean?" Aelita asked.

She sighed and explained, "You know how I said the free ride was the main reason why I left Kadic? Well, there was a second reason. My dad used to work there before he and my sister had been kidnapped. My mother had been kidnapped a few years prior. Being at Kadic reminded me of what I had lost." Saddened by this sudden turn of the conversation, Aelita reached her hand out and placed it on top of Taelia's in consolation. She had just glanced at Taelia's beautiful purple necklace when a bright purple light shown in her eyes and the deli vanished from view.

_She was now sitting in a very tall chair in what appeared to be a hospital waiting room. Taking in her surroundings, she realized that this was a memory of when she was nine years old. She had gotten bored and was swinging her legs back and forth. Daddy and a bunch of doctors had been in that room a very long time. Her old babysitter, who Aelita called Narci, sat beside her. She would glance every now and then between Aelita and the hallway._

_Finally, she heard Daddy's left boot, which squeaked any time he stepped on it, coming towards her. Excited, she looked up and saw Daddy standing there. He looked very tired. But in his hands was something wrapped in a pink blanket._

_"Aelita," he said softly with a smile on his face. "Would you like to see your new baby sister?"_

_Jumping off of the chair excitedly, Aelita rushed over to Daddy, who knelt down and showed the thing that was inside the blanket. There was a cute little face showing at the top of the bundle. The eyes were closed, and the baby appeared to be fast asleep._

_"She looks like me!" Aelita exclaimed quietly, hoping not to wake the little girl. "Can we call her Aelita too, Daddy?"_

_Chuckling, Daddy said, "No. Mommy and I picked a different name for her. Her name is Taelia." As if on cue, little Taelia's eyes opened and began taking everything around her._

_"Hi Taelia," whispered Aelita. Taelia's hazel-brown eyes locked onto Aelita's. "I'm Aelita, your big sister." Taelia uttered a sound similar to a giggle._

_The scene changed again, and Aelita was standing in the doorway of a house. She wasn't at the Hermitage but at a slightly smaller house. She was dropping Taelia off at a friend's house for a sleepover._

_"And if you need anything, just give my father a call," she was saying to Taelia's friend's mother, who stood facing to her._

_"No need to worry, Aelita," the woman said. "Your sister has never been any trouble before now, and we will take good care of her."_

_"Thank you," Aelita said, smiling._

_"'Lita! 'Lita! 'Lita!" called Taelia, who had rounded a corner and rushed to her big sister._

_"Yes, Taelia. What is it?" asked Aelita._

_"Marie wants to see your bracelet! She really likes my necklace, and I told her that you have a pink bracelet that is a lot like it!"_

_"Tell you what," Aelita replied, kneeling so she was at eye-level with Taelia. "You can wear my bracelet the entire time you're here, and then you can give it back to me when I see you again. How does that sound?" Taelia's eyes widened, and she nodded vigorously. "Okay then." Aelita slipped off the pink bracelet that had been on her right wrist and slipped it onto Taelia's._

_Taelia hugged Aelita and whispered in her ear so the mother could not hear her, "I promise to take really, really, REALLY good care of it."_

_"I know you will. I love you, Taelia."_

_"I love you too, 'Lita," They let go of each other._

_Standing up, Aelita told her, "Have fun!" But Taelia had already run off around the corner, eager to begin playing with Marie again._

_"Thank you again," Aelita said to the mother._

_"It's our pleasure, Aelita," she replied smiling. "When will we expect you tomorrow?"_

_"Around one o'clock in the afternoon." Aelita hopped onto her bike. "Have a nice day!"_

_She soon sped off in the direction of the Hermitage. As soon as she got home, she placed her bike on the side of the house and ran inside, hearing her father playing the piano._

_"Daddy?" she called out, running into the great room. He stopped playing and turned towards her. "I dropped Taelia off at Marie's family's house. I told them to call you if they needed anything."_

_"Thank you, honey," he replied. "Anything else?"_

_"No. That's all. I'm going up to my room," she replied. She jogged upstairs to her room. She sat down on the floor just listening to her father as he resumed his playing._

_Suddenly, she heard a car slam on its brakes and doors shut. Then a man's voice yelled, "Alright. Come out of there!" She knew the rest of the memory. She and her father ran to the factory and were virtualized onto Lyoko._

The memory flash ended, and the deli came back into focus. The others were looking at her with concerned expressions etched on their faces.

"Are you okay, Aelita?" Ulrich asked. Aelita nodded slowly.

"Was this one of those memory flashes that Jeremie told me about?" Taelia asked. Again, Aelita nodded. "What did you see?"

"Can we talk about this outside?" Odd asked quickly. "Some people are starting to stare." Without saying a word, they all quickly got up, threw their trash away, and headed outside. They didn't say a word the whole way back to their cars.

From time to time, she still had memory flashes that would tell her more about her past. Often, the memory flash would only show a small portion of a bigger picture, but a lot of information of the bigger picture would also come rushing back after the flash ended. The last memory flash occurred this past February and was of her birthday, finally learning when she was born.

Aelita was contemplating what she had just seen and all of the "new" information that came with it. Except when _he_ forced it upon her, her visions and memory flashes always occurred when her surroundings required it. First, the flashes she had when she first entered into the Hermitage tried to tell her she was home, but they scared her instead. The nightmares of Mr. Puck told her to go back to the Hermitage to get the key to the train locker that had contained her father's diary. The nightmare of her mother's kidnapping happened before _he_ attempted to fool her into believing her father had come to see her, serving as a reminder of who she missed more than her father. The vision of her father's death warned her that the last battle against _him_ was coming, but it was to be at a cost. These most recent flashes had happened when she and Taelia's hands came into contact. She hoped that the pieces of the puzzle were fitting in the right spots.

They had all gathered around Jeremie's truck when she finally spoke. "I had two flashes this time," she said slowly. "The first was me in a hospital waiting room when I was nine years old. My father had come out, and in his hands was my newborn baby sister." She let the words sink in for a minute.

"A sister," whispered Jeremie. It was not a question, more of a shocked statement.

"The second one was me dropping my sister off at one of her friends' houses for a sleepover," she continued, glancing at Taelia out of the corner of her eye. "That one ended like most of the other flashes." Everyone's eyes, save for Sissi's and Taelia's, widened. They all knew how most of her flashes ended: with Aelita and Franz Hopper being virtualized onto Lyoko.

William's eyes at that point had then drifted to Taelia, with Aelita following his gaze. Frowning, he glanced back at Aelita. She looked directly in his eyes for a moment. Then, his mouth slowly opened into a very round "O". Hopefully, he had put the pieces together like she did.

"What was your sister's name?" Ulrich asked, hesitantly.

Aelita breathed in deeply and turned her head towards Taelia. She was hoping that she could be wrong in her assumptions, but then the purple necklace around Taelia's neck gleamed again. It was the same necklace from the memory flash. She knew she was correct then. Taelia appeared to have been guessing where this was going and had already started to slightly glare at Aelita.

"Taelia," was all Aelita could say before Taelia interrupted her.

"This is _not_ funny," she said hotly. "I don't know how you found out that my sister dropped me off at a friend's house before she disappeared, but making fun of my past is not even remotely humorous!" She then rounded on Jeremie, who was helpless against her glare. "Did _you_ put her up to this? Did you tell her to do this?" He tried to say something, but she quickly held up her hand, the pink bracelet on her wrist glinting in the sunlight. "I don't want to hear it." She began to walk away.

"You never could easily say my whole name," Aelita called after her, trying to convince her of the truth.

Without stopping, Taelia yelled back, "Anyone could have told you that!"

"That bracelet you're wearing," Aelita called again, walking over to her. "I gave it to you so you could show Marie. I told you to keep it until you saw me again. You told me that you promised to take really, really, REALLY good care of it."

Taelia had stopped moving, but wouldn't turn around. Aelita had caught up to her when she asked in a quiet voice, "Who gave me my necklace?"

"Dad did," Aelita replied. "It was the Christmas after you turned two. It was a tradition he wanted to start. He had given me my bracelet the Christmas after I turned two. The best part about them was that there were always additional chain lengths so we could always wear them and have them fit perfectly."

Taelia slowly turned, and Aelita saw the tears that had formed in those hazel-brown eyes. Taelia whispered, "'Lita?" Aelita nodded, smiling. Taelia embraced her sister, crying into her shoulder.

The others stayed put and didn't interrupt the family reunion. However, Odd did turn to Jeremie and started to say, "So, you went out with one sister…"

"Remember when I punched you and nearly broke my wrist doing so?" Jeremie interrupted. Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Finish that statement, and we'll get to see if the same outcome will happen again." He cracked his knuckles. Odd fell silent and slowly backed away from Jeremie. The two girls, however, heard the conversation and began to laugh.

Backing away a bit, Taelia asked Aelita, "What happened that day? How were you able to come back? And how are you the same age as I am?"

"I'll explain everything," Aelita said, turning to her car. "But first, let's go home so we can really talk."

"Home?"

"Our old house. Where else?"


	5. Chapter 5: The Hermitage Transformed

_**A/N: To those of you who are wondering, "When does Harry Potter come into play?" This is my answer: In the Harry Potter books, the central theme of the plot did not start right at the beginning. The plot built up to that central theme in the previous chapters. This is what you are reading and have been reading thus far: the build-up. Trust me; be patient and you won't be disappointed. **_

_**Please review!**_

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Hermitage Transformed**

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" he thought, searching the place. He had been initially surprised at how clean the place had become. Then he realized with distaste that it meant someone lived there now. He had to put everything back where it was while he was searching or the occupants of the place will learn someone else had been there. Unfortunately, his stupid companion did not share this understanding with him.

"Put that back on the wall!" he shouted at the idiot, who quickly hung the painting of a very ornate tree up on the wall. Shaking his head, he walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs at the end of the hall. Sometimes, having specters do the dirty work is frustrating, especially when they don't do it exactly how you want them to. Luckily, making another one doesn't take a lot of power. And power was not something he had a lot of at the moment.

He walked into the sitting room and began searching the walls. He came across an old oak bookcase next to the two couches and opposite the grand piano. It had seven shelves full of books, all straightened up and free of dust. Yes, someone has definitely been cleaning this place up. On the coffee table that sat in the middle of the room was a closed book, obviously serving as light reading for the inhabitant of the old house.

"Move this bookcase out of the way," he told his companion. The companion did as instructed. Unfortunately, the instructions were not specific enough. In stunned anger, he watched the caveman pull the top of the bookcase and allowed the whole thing to crash to the ground. Thankfully, the bookcase didn't break, but the books had fallen into a disorganized heap underneath it. The impact of the fall caused the whole house to tremble a little, and the book on the coffee table fell to the floor. The bookcase had missed said coffee table by a good two centimeters. If he had blood, it would be boiling right now.

"That's it! I can handle it all on my own from here on out!" he shouted in anger. And with that, he lifted his hand and electrocuted the specter, forcing it up against the wall until it dissolved into billions of electric particles.

He smiled. Those are the two best parts about specters. First, their destruction brings a wonderful influx of power. Second, when you electrocute them, they don't scream bloody murder. They are nice and quiet while accepting their punishment. Not those wimpy humans. As pleasing as the sound of their screaming is, it can sometimes hurt his "ears".

Turning back to the wall that had previously been covered up by the bookcase, he saw it. There sat the safe sitting in the middle of the wall; it was now the only thing between him and his destiny. Hopper was a fool thinking he could keep those objects away from him. He knew about them, and soon the whole world would know them as his tools for acquiring his immense power. Not even those pesky children would be able to stop him.

"Curious that it is set in the wall a few inches," he thought, reaching for the knob of the safe. He also heard a faint humming sound coming from the safe, almost as if it knew it was going to be opened by the one being that shouldn't be. Suddenly, pain flared intensely up and down his arm, and he was forced to recoil his hand. The pain stopped, and strangely, so did the feeling and mobility in his entire arm. He knew what the humming meant now.

A car could be heard pulling up into the driveway before he could contemplate how to get around this new obstacle. The occupants of the house were home! He had to set everything right and find a way out without arousing suspicion! Quickly, he lifted the bookcase back up into its original position and placed all of the books back onto their shelves. He placed the book back on the coffee table. Hoping he left the room as he found it, he quickly moved away from the front door, his paralyzed arm swinging this way and that.

* * *

Aelita pulled up into the driveway of the Hermitage. She had started to explain everything to Taelia on the car ride over. What their father had been working on, what had happened that day Taelia and Aelita had last seen each other, who X.A.N.A. was (the first time she had actually said his name since she had left the factory for the last time), what Lyoko was, and was just telling her about the adventures she, Jeremie, Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi had on Lyoko.

"So, when you say this 'Kolossus' thing was gigantic," Taelia began, stepping out of the Camaro.

"Like three or four stories tall and two or three stories wide," Odd clarified, stepping out behind her.

"Wow. That's pretty big."

Aelita nodded. "The scariest part about the thing was that its 'skin' was a mixture of rocks and lava." Taelia cringed. "The only one of us who had been able to destroy it was Ulrich." She looked down the driveway as Jeremie and Ulrich pulled up behind her car.

"And he survived?" Taelia asked, slightly impressed.

Stepping off the motorcycle, Ulrich asked, "He survived what? The Kolossus?" Aelita nodded, and he continued, saying, "Well, if you consider being crushed by its corpse as it fell to the ground as surviving, then the answer would be 'Yes.'" Taelia's eyes widened and then she frowned.

"Remember that this happened on Lyoko," Yumi reminded Taelia, noticing her confusion.

Shaking her head, Taelia said, "Thanks. It's hard to keep straight what happened on Earth and what happened on Lyoko. I'm still a little confused on the whole 'virtualization' thing."

"Wow, Aelita," Jeremie said, interrupting their conversation as he stepped out of his truck. "The place looks a lot less abandoned than the last time I saw it."

Jeremie was right. The Hermitage appeared less worn down now. The shutters had been repaired and pulled back. The outer walls had been repainted a solid grayish white. The roof had been redone, replacing the old worn-down shingles with brand new black ones. The lawn had been mowed down. The weeds had been pulled from the garden, which had a few rose bushes along the front. It gave a sense that someone was currently living there.

"It's nothing really," said Aelita, a little downcast. "The porch needs fixing up, the trees in the backyard need some trimming, and most of the inside is still a mess. I only really got to clean up the sitting room, the kitchen, a bathroom, and my bedroom. I haven't had time to tackle the other rooms yet."

"But it's still incredible what you've accomplished so far," Odd countered.

"It kinda looks like how it used to, Sis," Taelia said to her. Aelita smiled at the compliment.

As they began to walk inside, William asked, "How were you able to afford all of the fixing up you had to do? I know you and I have had a lot of paid gigs before but it wouldn't be enough for all of this."

"Well," Aelita started, smiling a little. "When I played with the Subdigitals, they sort of asked me to play again…and again…and again. Each time, I was paid quite a lot of money. Plus, I have had a job at a computer store for the past year. At first, I was just a clerk that helped customers out. Then, I got promoted to be a programmer and updater of apps. I've gotten pretty good at it."

"Remind me to talk to you about this one app I've been having trouble with on my phone," Ulrich said to Aelita as she unlocked the front door.

The inside of the house still had some clutter on the floor in some of the rooms, especially what was left of Franz Hopper's study. The tiled floor in the hallway had some dirt, and a few dark footprints were left from when the Men in Black had trashed the place. On the other hand, the walls were recently cleaned and painted. The piano in the far corner of the sitting room had been wiped clean of dust. The boxes that used to sit in the middle of the room had been removed, and their contents were placed in their appropriate places. Family pictures were framed, hung on the wall, and placed on tables.

"Where are the pictures of me?" Taelia asked, looking along the wall hopefully.

"To be honest," Aelita said, grimacing a little. Taelia raised an eyebrow at that. "They're still packed away in a box. I never came across ones with both you and myself in it. The box I found the pictures of you in it had a lot of pictures of you, Mom, and Dad. I thought that I was in those pictures and said pictures had become discolored since my hair wasn't red. Remind me later, and we'll go out to get some more frames to put them in."

"What is that smell, Aelita?" Odd asked, interrupting. "It smells really good!"

"That'd be the chocolate fudge I had made in the kitchen," she replied. Walking through a doorway across from the sitting room, she gestured for the rest to follow her. "I made it before I left for the football game, hoping that I could convince some of you to come here and have a slice or two. I used a recipe my mom came up with to make the best fudge in the world. Oh no!" She stopped in her tracks. Looking around her, the others saw that the fudge had fallen from the counter and onto the floor.

"It must have fallen while you were at the game," Jeremie said.

"I bet it tasted just like Mom's did," Taelia said, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder. Aelita smiled a little bit but was still greatly disappointed.

"Here," William said, picking up a broom and a dustpan from a nearby closet. "You girls go chat in the sitting room. Ulrich and I will clean this up."

While the two boys got to work, the others went into the sitting room. They sat on the two couches in the center of the room, maneuvering around the small coffee table that sat in between the couches.

"So, what happened after the Kolossus destroyed the _Skid_?" Taelia asked, sitting down next to her sister.

"Well, Jeremie began working on a multi-agent anti-X.A.N.A. program," Aelita continued explaining. "While doing so, Dad sent him a message telling him that he had important data to give to Jeremie. We all headed to the Ice Sector, and Dad was there waiting for us. X.A.N.A. didn't like that and sent the Kolossus and some Mantas to stop him. As we told you before, Ulrich was able to destroy it, giving Dad a chance to escape and for Odd and myself to go to Sector 5 to activate the program.

"Once there, we learned that the Supercomputer didn't have enough power to run the program on its own. That's when Dad came back. There were a couple of Mantas ready to send me back to Earth, but they turned their attention to Dad. He was supplying the power that the Supercomputer needed, and we ran the program." She paused, choking up a bit. "Unfortunately, it cost Dad his life. He died before the program could save him." A single tear slid down her cheek.

Taelia wiped her eyes and said, "You know, I somewhat guessed that Dad was gone because you never mentioned that he was here, waiting to see me." They sat in silence for a moment. Then Taelia asked to the group at large, "So I take it you shut the Supercomputer down then?"

"Yes, we did," Yumi replied. "Some of us were more ready than others to shut the thing down for good." She looked at Jeremie. But before he could retort, she quickly added, "But they all had good reasons for not being ready."

"On a completely unrelated subject," Sissi said, picking up the book that was on the coffee table. "What have you been reading lately, Aelita?"

Glad at the change of subject, Aelita answered, "I'm reading this one book on ancient Egyptian legends. It's really fascinating."

"I remember that book," Taelia said, smiling. "Dad read me that book while he read you the Norse folklore book."

Sissi had opened the book and looked very confused. "This book isn't about either of those. This book is about ancient Greece."

Aelita narrowed her eyes and said, "May I see it?" Sissi handed it over. Aelita flipped through several pages. "You're right. This isn't the book I had left on the table." She stood up and walked to the bookcase to the right of the couch. "It's supposed to go over… Wait a minute!" She paused, frowning. "The books are all in the wrong spot. I organize them by genre, but they're organized alphabetical order. Someone's moved the bookcase!"

At that moment, Ulrich came running into the room and said, "Aelita, we found footprints in the kitchen and all over the hallway."

"Ulrich, now isn't the time to pointing out the obvi…" Yumi started.

"No," Ulrich interrupted frantically. "I mean the footprints are still fresh and made of the fudge! Someone had knocked it over, stepped in it without realizing it, and walked all over the house. Someone had broken in while you were away."

Jumping up and taking the initiative, Sissi said, "Taelia and I will check any doors or windows for signs of entry." The two girls quickly walked out of the room.

"Where's William?" Jeremie asked, standing up as well.

"He's following the footprints," Ulrich explained. "Trying to see where the intruder had been."

"Well, he or she obviously had been in here," Aelita said, moving to one side of the bookcase. "Can you guys help me move this bookcase to the side? Whoever it was must have been looking for something behind it." With Aelita and Ulrich on the right side and Yumi, Odd, and Jeremie on the left, the five of them moved the bookcase over to the right about five feet.

"Whoa," Aelita heard Odd say. Walking around the bookcase, she saw a safe set into the wall a few inches deep. Its door was closed and, after she pulled on the dial, still locked. The whole time, even as she pulled her hand out, she felt an odd sensation travel up and down her wrist.

"Do you think they got what they were searching for?" Jeremie asked.

"Hard to tell," Aelita answered, shrugging.

* * *

"Maybe we should try upstairs," Taelia suggested to Sissi. They had already checked the ground floor and basement windows and doors. All of them were locked, which struck Taelia as very peculiar. She specifically remembered Aelita unlocking the front door before walking into the house today. She had overheard Ulrich mention the fresh fudge footprints and noticed some came from and headed to the second floor.

Reaching the upstairs hallway, Sissi went to check on any windows in other rooms. Taelia followed the footprints that came from Aelita's bedroom. She walked in. Apart from the desk and the open laptop in the corner of the room, everything was pretty much the same as it was fourteen years ago. She did notice that the laptop had a webcam and decided to see if it had caught the intruder on video.

After clicking around for a little bit, she found that a video had been started right before Aelita must have left for the football game. Opening the file, she watched as her sister walk out of the room and turn off the light. Nothing much happened. Impatient, Taelia pressed fast-forward and watched nothing happen at twice the original speed. Then, two dark figures quickly walked into the bedroom. Taelia let go of fast-forward. The video was without sound so Taelia could not tell what they were saying.

One figure said something to the other and pointed at the painting of the tree on the wall. The second figure, shorter in stature, picked up the painting and looked in the rather large opening in the wall that it had been covering. The first, meanwhile, began looking through the drawers of the dresser and through the closet. When the first figure got near the laptop, the second said something, and the first appeared to sigh in exasperation. Shaking his head, he turned and saw the computer. He must have noticed that the camera was on because he pressed one of the keys on the keyboard, and the video ended.

"Well _that_ didn't answer much," she thought, standing up. She knew they had been looking for something, but she didn't have any idea as to what it could be. She looked at the painting. The second figure must have put it back on the wall, but it was very crooked. Mimicking the first figure from the video, she sighed melodramatically and adjusted the painting.

* * *

William held a flashlight tightly in one hand as he followed the trail of footprints towards the laundry room. He was guessing that the intruder had left through this way since no footprints led away from it. That or the intruder realized he had been leaving a trail and cleaned his shoe. He pushed open the partially closed door and looked towards the very grimy window. It was closed and undamaged.

"So much for the theory that he left out this way," he muttered to no one in particular, flipping on the light switch. The light flickered for a bit and then went out. The only light source in the room was his flashlight.

"Great," he thought. "This isn't spooky one bit." His grip on the flashlight tightened just a little bit. He decided to follow the trail of fudge a little bit further into the room. His heart began to race as the footprints moved in the direction of the mostly closed closet door.

He froze when the light revealed a pair of shoes, one of which had a decent amount of fudge on it, in the closet. He moved the light upwards, his heart pounding in his ears and his free hand clenched in a fist ready for a fight. The light found the face of the intruder. But to William's horror, instead of seeing pupils in the man's eyes, he saw the eyes of X.A.N.A.


	6. Chapter 6: TickTock

**Chapter 6: Tick-Tock**

Thank Merlin that _thing_ has gone! It had mentioned something about going to France to pay some old companions a visit and then disappeared in a flash of purple lightning. Hopefully, that visit will take awhile.

The man stood up. He knew where he was: still inside that blasted Siberian facility. He quickly scrambled through his suit pockets. Thankfully, the pocket watch and his "stick" – what that ignorant thing had called it – were still there. He looked around the room that he had been contained in, but there wasn't much to look at, save for the computer sitting in the middle of the back wall, of course.

It wasn't a very large computer, but the man sat down in front of it, praying that it had the capabilities he needed. After a few minutes of examining this piece of technology, he recognized that it was connected to the Internet and that it had a camera. He quickly set up the camera to record a message, hoping beyond all hope that he can send it to his family back home.

* * *

Just as the five in the sitting room were about to move the bookcase back to its original position, they heard William shout out followed by several thumps against the wall.

"I think William might have found your unwelcomed guest, Aelita," Ulrich said before rushing to the hallway. But right when he entered the hallway, William flew through the air, and both him and Ulrich fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"William, what did you do that for?!" Ulrich grunted angrily underneath William.

"Not my fault," William argued, trying to untangle his limbs from Ulrich's. "He threw me."

The intruder came into the line of sight of the others. He was dressed in all black and was taller than all of them. His hair was a dark brown, and his face had very faint, but still noticeable, scars all over it. He appeared to be no older than twenty-five years old.

Jeremie charged at the man. He threw punch after punch, but the man executed perfect blocks, all with his left hand. None of the punches made their mark. He grabbed Jeremie by the collar of his shirt, spun him around, and threw him back into the room against the opposite wall. Jeremie slumped to the floor, groaning.

Before anyone could move again, the man spoke, "Is this the way you treat people you haven't seen in five years, Aelita? By having your friends attack them?"

Scowling, Aelita replied by asking, "How do you know my name?! And who are you?!"

He smirked and answered, "You tell me." He calmly walked toward her, but Ulrich had gotten to his feet.

"Stay away from her!" he shouted, rushing forward. The man snarled, turned, and shot purple lighting out of his fingertips at Ulrich. Ulrich yelled and writhed in pain for a few seconds before the man swung his arm around, taking the lighting and Ulrich with it. Ulrich slammed into the wall next to the bookcase and fell to the ground unconscious.

"No!" Aelita shouted, shaking her head in a mixture of shock and fear. "No, no, no, no! It's not possible!"

"Yes," X.A.N.A. replied coolly. "Yes, yes, yes, yes. And it is possible."

"You're supposed to be dead," Yumi said, scowling.

"Sorry to disappoint you. Remind me to get you a better birthday present next year," he replied sarcastically.

* * *

Taelia had just left Aelita's room when she heard William's shout. She raced to the head of the stairs where Sissi met up with her.

"Did you hear something?" Sissi began. But immediately after, the girls heard a lot of thumps against the walls and grunts coming from downstairs.

"Come on," Taelia said, about to charge down the stairs. "What are we waiting for?"

"Wait!" Sissi said, grabbing Taelia's arm. "Listen!"

They heard Ulrich suddenly shout out William's name and William say something about the guy throwing him. Then they heard Jeremie's grunts, a yell, and a thud against a wall.

"Let's go!" Taelia said, walking down the stairs quickly. Sissi followed right behind her.

They were about halfway down the stairs when they heard Ulrich shout, "Stay away from her!" Then, the pair heard what sounded like charges of electricity, Ulrich's yell of pain, and a louder thud against a wall. Now concerned for their own safety, they slowly moved down the stairs. Once at the bottom, they could see William standing in the hallway facing the sitting room. But as they got closer, William saw them and shook his head fervently. Getting the message, the girls stopped moving and listened to the conversation that was happening in the sitting room.

* * *

"Is it really you, or just a specter you sent to kill us?" Odd asked.

"A little bit of both; it is I in specter form."

"How are you still alive after all these years?" Aelita demanded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw William look down the hallway and shake his head.

"It's quite simple really," X.A.N.A. started to explain, sitting down on the couch and putting his feet up on the coffee table. "When you launched the multi-agent program all those years ago, I took a lesson from your father: I retreated. I fell back into the Supercomputer in Siberia and shut it down from the inside, breaking its connection to the Network. The program couldn't enter into a Supercomputer that was 1) turned off and 2) disconnected from the Network. Then, after five long years of hibernation, someone came and turned the Supercomputer back on. It was really kind of him, don't you think?"

"Yeah, real compassionate," Yumi replied sarcastically. "Who was it?"

X.A.N.A. paused and frowned a little. Then, he said, "I'll tell you as much as I know about him: He's tall and got red hair. That's all I have gotten from him. He refuses to talk to me or explain why he brought me back."

"Why don't you just possess him like you did with me?" asked William. "I bet he'd be willing to talk then." X.A.N.A. said nothing and stared at the back wall, frowning ever so slightly.

Aelita smirked, saying, "Perhaps you already tried that, but it didn't work." X.A.N.A.'s eyes twitched slightly. "Lost your touch in those five long years, have we?"

He growled and jumped to his feet. "Enough of this pointless talk," he said, irritated. "Now, I want what is in that safe. Open it and give the contents to me!"

"Why do you need me to do it? Can't you do it yourself?" Aelita asked, squaring her shoulders bravely. She quickly thought back to the odd sensation she had felt when she reached her hand towards the safe. Then she noticed X.A.N.A.'s right arm, the way it just dangled motionless at his side. The answer came to her before he could open his mouth again. "There's an electromagnetic field in the wall in front of the safe. You can't touch it."

"Very perceptive," X.A.N.A. said, clearly impressed.

"Well, even if I had wanted to open that safe for you, I can't," she replied. "I never knew it existed, and I can't even think of a possible combination my father would have for it."

"That's too bad. But you are going to have to figure it out fairly quickly. You see I have already turned the Supercomputer back on in the factory, and I have activated a tower on Lyoko. Don't worry your pretty, little heads about it because it isn't doing anything… yet. But, if you don't figure out the combination in, oh, three hours, then it will."

"There's nothing you can do to us that will make us even want to help you," Aelita said, defiantly. "My father gave up his life to bring you down, and I am prepared to do the very same if need be."

"The same can be said for the rest of us!" Jeremie said, slowly getting to his feet.

"How brave of you," X.A.N.A. said, seeming bored. "But I was thinking more towards this really impressive structure at the center of Paris. What is it called again? Ah, that's right. The Eiffel Tower. It would be a shame if it all of a sudden burst into flames and within minutes be reduced to burnt scrap metal, wouldn't you agree?"

"You wouldn't!" Odd exclaimed.

"I would. All it would take is a snap of my fingers," he replied, waving his left hand in front of Odd's face in a taunting manner.

"How are we going to come up with the combination in three hours?" Aelita asked, now clearly alarmed.

"I bet you can find it somewhere here in this house or somewhere in the factory," X.A.N.A. answered her. He then pointed to Jeremie, Odd, and William. "You three, go search the factory. And when Sleeping Beauty wakes up, the other three will search this house from top to bottom. If you all give it your best effort and still haven't found the combination, then I will reconsider my time limit. But if I find out that _any_ of you have gone to Lyoko to deal with that tower, then I will go ahead and burn the Eiffel Tower to the ground before the three hours are up! Do I make myself clear?" They nodded. "Now move it! Your three hours have begun!"

* * *

"Time to move!" whispered Taelia to Sissi when they heard X.A.N.A. finish speaking. She turned towards the basement stairs and went down two at a time. They ran out through the back door into the garden, something Taelia always did when she played hide-and-seek with Aelita.

"Do you have any idea how to get to the factory from here?" Taelia asked Sissi. Sissi shrugged, clearly at a loss. But they're confusion was short-lived because William, Jeremie, and Odd showed up.

"How much did you hear?" Jeremie asked.

"All of it," Sissi replied. "We'll help in the factory in any way we can!"

"That's good to know," Odd said, walking to a steel plate along the garden wall.

"Do you know how to get to the factory from here?" Taelia asked William, noticing at the same many bruises already starting to form. But before he could answer, Odd pulled the steel plate and opened the door that it covered.

"Right this way, ladies," he said, gesturing to the passage inside.

One whiff and Taelia knew it led to the sewers. She looked at Jeremie. He nodded, and she ran down the passage.

"Can't we take the cars?" Sissi asked, holding her nose.

William shook his head. "We want to avoid using the Return-to-the-Past," he explained. "So, we don't want to draw any attention by driving multiple vehicles into the factory."

"This way," Jeremie said, taking the lead. They all followed closely behind him.

* * *

"Ulrich? You okay?"

Ulrich groaned and slowly lifted his head. "I think so. What happened?"

Yumi breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "Long story short: X.A.N.A. is back, and we have three hours to search both the Hermitage and the factory top and bottom to figure out the combination to the safe in the wall or he will set the Eiffel Tower on fire."

Ulrich blinked and stared at her, hoping and praying that she was joking. Her face was very sincere. He huffed.

"And where did Jeremie, William, Odd, …" he began to ask.

"They're at the factory," Yumi replied, trying to hide the alarm in her voice. She tried to convey with her eyes that X.A.N.A. didn't let on that he knew Sissi and Taelia had been in the house as well. For Aelita's sake, she wanted it to stay that way. Ulrich frowned a little, then nodded his understanding.

"Okay," he said, slowly getting up. "Where should we start?"

"Well," Yumi said. "Aelita is checking the upstairs bedrooms for anything. I'm going to look through Hopper's study."

"Okay. I'm going to take a look at the safe and the wall around it. I feel like there might be at least a clue somewhere in there." Nodding, Yumi walked briskly away.

Ulrich crouched down so he was eye level with the safe. The first thing he noticed was that the dial was not a small dial. The highest number it went to was 99. He also noticed that the inlet in the wall was too small for him to reach his head in and place his ear against the door of the safe. As he looked closely along the inside of the inlet, he saw markings and scratches that, upon even closer inspection, made pictures.

There were only three pictures. The first picture was easy to decipher. It was a drawing of a calendar with a number at the top. All Ulrich could make out were the first three numbers: 1-9-7. The second picture was a little more difficult to understand. It was a picture of three torches, and a cross was underneath the two torches on the ends. The third picture was even more difficult to understand. It was a very large cup with what appeared to be flames coming out of the top of it.

"Maybe these are clues that only Franz Hopper would understand," Ulrich thought, checking behind him to see if X.A.N.A. was standing close by. After determining the coast was clear, he pulled out his cell phone and took a picture of the engravings. He stood up and sent the picture to Jeremie to see if he could determine their meaning.

* * *

"How on Earth are we going to get from up here to…?" Sissi started to say.

"Banzai!" Odd shouted, jumping off the ledge and reaching out to one of the two ropes dangling from the ceiling. He slid down the rope and looked up expectantly at Taelia and Sissi.

"Oh, what the heck," Taelia said, shrugging. She ran forward and jumped off the platform in the factory, very similar to how Odd had. William, Jeremie, and Sissi followed suit shortly after her.

"So where all should we look, Jeremie?" asked William. Jeremie looked around the factory; trying to think of spots Franz Hopper could hide a combination to a safe that X.A.N.A. would want to get into.

"You and Sissi go check the office spaces," he said after a minute or two. "Odd, look around the machinery. Taelia, you and I will go down to the laboratory." Watching the others run off, Jeremie and Taelia walked into the elevator and leaned against the wall as it headed down.

"I thought you said he was…" Taelia said quietly.

"We thought he was," Jeremie told her, gripping her hand tightly. "But we'll handle him just like we always had. Except this time, we have you." She grinned slightly as the elevator came to a stop. The door opened, and Taelia saw, for the first time in her life, the laboratory her father had built.

"It's bigger than I had pictured it," she thought aloud, watching Jeremie walk over to the chair and sit in it.

Jeremie didn't respond but began typing. Sure enough, there was a tower activated in the Ice Sector with Krabs guarding the perimeter. Before he could get farther, Jeremie's phone went off. Picking it up, he saw that Ulrich had sent him a picture. Connecting his phone to the computer, he pulled up the image.

"Taelia, can you come take a look at this?" he asked. Taelia, who had been walking around the lab and taking it all in, quickly came to his side. "Do you recognize any of the images?"

Taelia looked hard. She couldn't make sense of the torches with crosses nor the cup with fire coming out of it. But the calendar might have made the combination easier to figure out.

"I think we are looking for a date," she told Jeremie, pointing to the calendar. "Can you make the image any sharper?" Smiling, Jeremie began typing again and sure enough, the calendar became sharper.

"1-9-7-3," she read. "My guess is that the last number of the combination is 73. The fiery cup and…"

"I'd say it looks more like a goblet," Jeremie interrupted. She glared at him.

"Fine. The fiery _goblet_ and the torches must represent something that happened on a specific day in 1973. Are there numbers on the days of that calendar?" Zooming in, they both looked closely at the tiny squares that represented the days.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "It's unclear as to what month that calendar is referencing. I would look through your father's video diary for clues, but the first one was made in the 1980s, just after he built the Supercomputer. How old would your dad have been in 1973?"

"He would've turned seventeen that April. So whatever happened in 1973 would have occurred while he was still in high school."

"That's a good theory. But your dad didn't attend any high school. He was homeschooled, right?"

Taelia huffed. "That's right," she said grumpily. "So much for looking at old school records or anything like that. We're not going to be able to figure out that date in two and a half hours! Shouldn't we try to do something then, about the tower I mean?"

"We could, but he said if any of us goes near that tower, it's 'Bye bye, Eiffel Tower!'"

"Wait," Taelia said, placing her hand on Jeremie's arm. "He was talking about any of you in the sitting room with him. He didn't know Sissi and I were in the hallway listening in." Jeremie stared at her for a good two minutes, contemplating what she was suggesting. He then dialed William's number.

"William," he said. "Get to the lab and bring Sissi and Odd with you. Taelia and I have a plan."

* * *

**_As always, please review!_**


	7. Chapter 7: Fooled

**Chapter 7: Fooled**

"You want to do what?!" William asked Jeremie and Taelia after they explained their idea. "We now have about two hours to figure out this combination, and you're here acting like X.A.N.A. is going to have those Krabs step aside for them!"

"That's besides the point," Odd said. "I thought Aelita was the only one who could deactivate towers anyway."

"What about her sister?" Taelia asked, looking at the trio facing her and Jeremie. "What wouldn't I be able to deactivate the tower as well?"

"But what if you can't?" William countered.

"Then they cut the cord to the tower," Jeremie replied quickly.

"I'm going no matter what," Taelia said resolutely. She looked at Sissi. "You are welcome to join me if you want. But if you don't want to, I can respect that."

"Pfft," Sissi replied, walking over to the elevator. "Of course I'm going with you. It's about time I got to go on Lyoko anyway. X.A.N.A. won't know how to handle me!" The boys all cocked an eyebrow and looked at each other.

"Fine," William said, sighing. "But if anything goes wrong, Odd and I will go, too."

"Since we're not going to figure out this combination soon," Odd added. "We might as well take away X.A.N.A.'s bargaining chip."

"That doesn't mean we can't stop trying to figure out this combination," Jeremie cut in. "Both of you, go back up to the office and try to find anything from the 1970s or relates to this picture." He gestured back to the computer screen, where the picture Ulrich sent him was still magnified. Odd and William looked closely at it.

"Is that fire coming out of that goblet?" William asked. Jeremie smirked and made eye contact with Taelia, who rolled her eyes in return.

"Something tells me finding stuff from the 1970s will be a lot easier than finding anything on torches, crosses, and goblets of fire," Odd said, turning towards the elevator. "But it doesn't mean we won't!"

"We'll do what we can," William said, stepping into the elevator. "But if neither one of us hears from you in half an hour, we're coming back down here. Okay?" Jeremie nodded.

"See ya!" Odd called as the elevator doors closed.

"All right ladies," Jeremie said enthusiastically. "Ready to get virtualized?"

* * *

"Yumi," Yumi heard Ulrich whisper from the hallway, trying to avoid X.A.N.A.'s attention if at all possible.

"Don't bother trying to whisper," X.A.N.A. called from upstairs. "I can hear you no matter what volume you speak at. But don't let me stop your conversation. Please, go on."

Scowling, Ulrich walked towards Yumi. "I just lost what I was about to say. Thanks for that interruption," he yelled back, turning his head towards the hall. While doing so, he did slip his cell phone into Yumi's hand.

He turned back at her. After first looking directly into her eyes, his eyes locked on his phone, gesturing at her to do the same. Following his gaze, she saw the image that was on the screen. Examining it closer, she saw the three sketch marks that had been put in the wall.

Reaching for the phone, he said, "Well, I can't remember what I was going to say, but I'll let you know if it comes to me. I'm going to look in the basement for anything."

"Okay," she replied. "I'll keep looking in here." She watched him walk out of the room and turned back to the mess of papers she was trying to look through. She didn't remember seeing anything about torches, crosses, or cups of fire.

Then it hit her. She remembered picking up something dated 1975 not a moment ago. She frantically looked through the papers until she found it. Sitting in the chair next to the desk, she began reading the piece of paper. It looked to be an ending to a journal entry Franz Hopper had written when he was young. It appeared to have been started on a preceding page, as the first sentence was incomplete.

It read, _"…way of life. I told him that I saw less danger and adventure this way. Plus, this life doesn't constantly remind me of what happened two years ago. He said that he could understand my choice then. But, to be honest, I really don't think he could. I don't think he ever will. But for the sake of our friendship, we respected the other's opinion on the matter._

_"He told me about this girl he had been seeing. I can't remember her name. From what I could tell, he definitely loved her. That look was in his eye the whole time he was talking about her. She seemed like a decent girl. I told him that I wanted to eventually meet her. Thankfully, he couldn't agree more._

_"'Maybe next time you and I get together," he had said. I told him I looked forward to it. _

_"I told him about my upcoming trip to Singapore in the spring. He appeared genuinely interested in that and asked why I was going. I reluctantly told him the reason, and that interest he had was gone._

_"We continued on with other small talk until it was time for us to go. We then agreed that over Christmas break, he'd come visit again and bring his girl with him. We went separate ways after that._

_"I guess in some respects I miss his way of life. But I promised myself I would never go back, and I won't. At least, not completely."_

_31 July 1975_

Yumi sat there for a moment, contemplating what she had just read. So, Franz Hopper had given up a certain way of life because of something that had happened in 1973. She guessed it had something to do with the cup of fire and the torches. Then again, the trip to Singapore in 1976 might have meant something as well.

"Well," she thought, getting to her feet. "There might be something in here about either event." She pocketed the journal entry and kept looking through the mess of papers.

As she made her way to the bookshelf in the corner of the room, her foot stepped on what felt like a metallic rod that had been laid on the ground. Nonetheless, she slipped and fell backward as the rod rolled under her weight. Shaking her head, she reached for the blasted thing, wondering why on Earth it was in the study.

"What is this thing?" she thought, holding it in her hands. Her thumb slid across a button and she felt the rod vibrate a little. She smiled darkly. "This just might come in handy."

* * *

"Transfer: Taelia. Transfer: Sissi," the girls heard Jeremie say over the humming of the scanners. "Scanner. Virtualization."

Five seconds later, they were floating above what appeared to be a gigantic iceberg. The next second, they were falling to the ground. Taelia reacted just in time to catch herself, but Sissi hit the ground hard.

"Ouch!" she cried. "You could have warned us that we were going to appear ten feet above the ground!"

"True," they heard Jeremie's disembodied voice. "But it wouldn't very entertaining for me." Taelia chuckled slightly and, in doing so, took notice of what she and Sissi looked like.

Sissi's hair had been pulled back into a ponytail as opposed to her usual style of letting it hang down freely. She wore a thin, black armor that covered her whole body except her head. The ends of her sleeves though seemed to be too big for her hands, dangling a good six inches away from them.

Taelia's hair was the same as it was on Earth. She wore a transparent blue skirt overtop a full body jumpsuit with many different shades of purple. A crescent moon pendant dangled from her neck and reached the middle of her chest. Feeling a weird sensation in her ears, she reached up and, to her surprise, found that they were pointed like an elf's.

"Jeremie," she began, remembering how Aelita described what she had looked like on Lyoko.

"Yes, it's true," he replied, already knowing what she was going to ask. "Other than some color changes, you look exactly like Aelita. I had nothing to do with it either. When first virtualized, the virtualization program creates each person's appearance and abilities. The activated tower is northwest of your position. Get going in that direction while I figure out your abilities and/or weapons." Sissi and Taelia just looked at each other and then at their surroundings, confusion on their faces.

"Go 45 degrees to your right," Jeremie told them, noticing their hesitation.

"Thank you," Sissi replied, as the two girls began running in that direction. "Didn't you say you could make vehicles or something like that? Wouldn't we get to the tower faster?"

"Yes and yes. But, the Krabs would be able to hear the vehicles coming. On foot, you can be quieter and sneakier."

"Well, sneaky is my middle name," Sissi said, beaming. Jeremie snorted loudly, causing Sissi's grin to disappear.

"Let's get moving, O Sneaky One," Taelia told her, trying desperately not to laugh.

The two girls ran off in the direction Jeremie had indicated. They both took in the scenery around them as they ran. Neither one had envisioned the sectors to be so complex. While the ice formations were a little more geometric than those on Earth, the landscape was comparable to that of a very recently made video game. Every now and then, they would catch a glimpse of the Digital Sea far below. They were told of its danger, despite its tranquil appearance.

After about 5 minutes of running, the girls soon saw the red glowing flame of the tower about a quarter of a mile away. They came to a stop behind an ice formation.

Looking over it, Taelia surveyed the scene before her. "Ugh," she said. "You call _those things_ Krabs? I fail to see the resemblance."

"Thank Odd for that," Jeremie replied.

Taelia's eyes darted from one Krab to the next. "How many Krabs did you say there were?"

"I didn't. But there are five of them."

"I only see four. Where's the other–"

"Get down!" Sissi hissed, pulling Taelia back to the ground. The girls stood frozen to the spot as they heard the clanking of the joints of the fifth Krab walk by the formation they were hiding behind.

As the clanking got quieter, Sissi crept slowly up the formation and peeked over the top, looking for any possible way to get to the tower undetected. Unfortunately, there weren't any more ice formations closer to the tower. She tried to think of a possible solution when she saw a Krab turn and face their direction. She gasped and slid back down.

While the one Krab hadn't seen her, the one that had been walking right by them earlier heard her not-so-quiet gasp. It stopped, turned, growled, and started heading back towards them.

"That patrolling Krab heard you, Sissi!" Jeremie exclaimed. "It's heading right for you!"

If she had been on Earth, Taelia would have heard only her heart beat pounding loudly in her ears. She closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists. She hoped beyond all hope that somehow, someway the Krab would not be able to see the two of them.

The clanking and growling became louder and louder. Taelia held her breath, waiting to be discovered, and their plan ruined. Then, the clanking stopped. Taelia peeked out of her right eye, expecting to see the ugly face of the Krab staring back at her. But, she didn't. In fact, all she saw was an ice wall.

"Where did this wall come from?" she thought as the Krab growled once more and walked away.

Jeremie's voice suddenly erupted from her ear. "Way to go, Taelia!" he exclaimed. "It seems that, like Aelita, you can create objects. In this instance, you created a wall covering you and Sissi so the Krab thought it was just part of the formation!"

Before she could ask what they were to do next, Jeremie continued, "Try creating a hole in the ground. Maybe you can create a pathway all the way to the tower."

Taelia glanced at Sissi, who shrugged in response. Closing her eyes, Taelia concentrated on the ground in front of her and imagined a hole big enough for her and Sissi to slip through. Hearing Sissi's sudden and quiet intake of breath, she opened her eyes and was pleased to see that the hole was right there. It appeared exactly as she had pictured it in her head.

"Getting to that tower just got a whole lot easier," she whispered to Sissi as she closed her eyes again, concentrating on the small platform that was appearing directly underneath the hole.

* * *

"Stay out of there!" Aelita yelled angrily. She shoved X.A.N.A. to the side to avoid him going into, unbeknownst to him, Taelia's bedroom. "You just stand on the side while _I_ go through the rooms of _my_ house!"

X.A.N.A. cocked an eyebrow and scowled at Aelita. "You've grown quite a backbone since we last met," he said to her, leaning against the hallway wall.

"That's because I was scared of you back then," Aelita replied before going into the darkened bedroom. "That was before you killed my father right in front of me. Now, I want you dead." X.A.N.A. raised both eyebrows at the last statement and couldn't help but smirking slightly.

"If I had known it would have caused you to grow up, I would have done it sooner," he said, almost nonchalantly but clearly hoping for an outburst.

Aelita clenched her fists and breathed deeply. She just stood in the middle of the room with her eyes closed for a few minutes. With most of her anger dissipated, she returned to the hallway calmly. With her back to him, she closed the door and locked it.

"It isn't that you weren't aware of its effect on me," she clarified. "It's that you weren't smart enough to pull it off." Turning to face him, she saw that his smile had vanished. She continued, "You just got lucky."

"I disagree with both of your statements," he said in response. "One, your father miscalculated and I outdid him, plain and simple." Standing up from the wall, he closed the gap between the two of them. "And two, you are _still_ scared of me."

"You wish," Aelita replied slowly, looking him directly in the eye. "There wasn't anything in that room that would interest you." She walked down the hall towards her father's room.

She passed by the stairs and saw Ulrich standing at the bottom, looking up at her. He smiled. Without saying anything, she knew what that smile meant. That smile said, "Nicely done." She smiled back and continued into her father's bedroom, all the while X.A.N.A.'s calculating eyes watching her.

* * *

"Okay, ladies," Jeremie said. "You are about ten yards away from the tower."

"Only direction now is up," Taelia said, already visualizing the hole that was to appear above them. "As soon as the hole is finished, Sissi, you need to push up through it as fast as possible so I can get into the tower before the Krabs see me." She closed her eyes and began concentrating.

"Taelia, I should warn you," Jeremie began. "There's a few Kankrelats lurking around too. Sissi's gasp caused an increase in security."

"Kang-gri-whats?" Taelia asked as she finished the hole. Before Jeremie could clarify, one Kankrelat fell through the hole and past the girls, making solid eye contact with them before plummeting to the Digital Sea.

"Uh oh," Sissi said.

* * *

"AAAARGHHHH!" roared X.A.N.A., shaking the whole house. Just as Aelita reached the hallway, he had flown the door to Taelia's bedroom wide open. He whirled around and faced her, fury in his eyes.

"You have a sister, don't you?!" he yelled. Aelita did the best she could to act confused at his question. "Don't play dumb with me! She's on Lyoko right now within ten yards of the tower! I warned you all of the consequences if you got near that tower!"

"She wasn't in the room when you were addressing us," Aelita argued, thinking quickly. "So technically, you hadn't told us if she got close to the tower."

"Who do you think sent her there?! She certainly couldn't have figured it out by herself in less than an hour! No, that argument won't work. First, the Eiffel Tower will go and then, I will kill each and every single one of you!"

* * *

Several hundred miles away, a couple and their two-year-old son were enjoying the sunset over horizon. The son was more interested in his chocolate ice cream cone than what the sun was doing. The father took one final picture of the scenery of Paris while the mother bent down and picked up her son.

"Whoa," the child said, as if he just now noticed the sunset. He dropped his cone and pointed. "That very bright."

"Yes it is, son," the father said, stooping down to clean up the soup that was the ice cream cone. "Try not to stare at it too long."

"Not that," the son corrected his father, pointing upward. "That." The parents looked up and saw the humongous flames that had caught their son's attention. They, along with the other tourists on the deck, stared at the flames in awe. They seemed almost majestic in their heated rage.

* * *

Taelia climbed out of the hole, not even caring about the Krabs bearing down on her position. They began to shoot at her just as she clambered to her feet. Running as fast as she could, she zigzagged back and forth, closer and closer to the tower.

"Don't slow down," Jeremie urged her.

"Now there's an idea!" Taelia shouted back.

Ignoring her sarcasm, he continued, "Just run straight at the tower. You'll be able to pass right on through the wall."

Thinking this was no time to question Jeremie, Taelia did as she was told. A second later she passed through and was inside the tower, barely missing the lasers from the Krabs. At least, she _thought_ she was inside the tower. A moment later, the walls began to disappear around her while the Ice Sector landscape came back into view until the tower was no more.

* * *

_**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I've been very busy since posting the last chapter. Please review!**_


	8. Chapter 8: Patty Cake, Patty Cake

**A/N: The point of view will jump around a lot as many things will happen at the same time. I hope that none of you get too lost in it all. As always, please review!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Patty Cake, Patty Cake**

"It was a decoy!" Jeremie cried, very alarmed. "I'm going to have to find the real tower now while trying to come up with a plan to stall X.A.N.A.'s attack! You girls are going to be on your own for a little bit unfortunately."

"Thanks," Taelia replied sarcastically, quickly creating a large ice formation for her and Sissi to hide behind. "We have absolutely no clue what all we can do to those monsters, but I guess that can wait!"

"Maybe lasers come out of these really big sleeves or something?" Sissi wondered aloud, looking at her sleeves from different angles. She glanced at Taelia and shrugged. She stepped out to the side of the formation and aimed her arms at the closest Krab a hundred yards away.

"Shoot!" she said. Nothing happened. "Fire!" Nothing. "Lasers, go!" Still nothing. The Krabs shots were coming closer to her. She threw her arms down in frustration. At that moment, cables shot out of her sleeves and punctured the ground. She gave a little start, paused, and lifted her arms quickly. The cables flew right back into her sleeves. The ground had two crisp, punctured holes that were about a foot deep.

She ducked an incoming laser and smiled. She threw her arms forward in a punching motion, and the cables flew towards the closest Krab, which was now fifty yards away. Both cables flew underneath the Krab, then immediately curved upwards and punctured it from underneath. The Krab exploded shortly afterwards.

"That's exactly what I wanted them to do!" Sissi exclaimed, smiling. "Now it's time for some fun."

* * *

Jeremie typed as fast as he could, unaware of what the girls were doing. He already had sent a text to Odd and William to get to the scanners as quickly as possible. He launched a program and continued typing, dictating the actions as they happened. He activated a tower in each of the four sectors and continued typing. A window opened up on the left side of the screen, displaying the feeds from multiple cameras on and around the Eiffel Tower.

The alarms on the Eiffel Tower sounded, causing the crowd at the top to stop staring at the noble flames and head for the stairs. In that moment, the flames suddenly went from impressive to deadly. They roared violently and fell down to the deck just as the last person left. The flames began to head towards the stairs. Green bolts of electricity suddenly shot at the flames, inexplicably forcing them back. Back in the lab, Jeremie smiled.

* * *

"It seems that Jeremie has improved his computer programming skills over the years," X.A.N.A. thought aloud. "I won't make that mistake again." He turned to Aelita, who looked like she was ready to fight him. "But that doesn't mean he can stop me from killing you and your sister." He made a movement with his now mobile right arm, and Aelita lunged to the side as bolts of electricity shot out at her.

"Aelita!" she heard Yumi call out to her from the bottom of the stairs. She looked down and saw Yumi toss a long metal rod at her. She caught it and jumped away from the electricity again. She was about to ask Yumi why in the world she now has a long _metallic_ rod in her hands when she felt a weird sensation. The sensation came from where her hands were touching the rod. It was also weird in the same way as when she stuck her hand close to the safe.

X.A.N.A. shot electricity again at her, but instead of dodging, she held the rod up in front of her, parallel to the ground. To her surprise, the rod blocked the electricity. Stunned, X.A.N.A. tried a different tactic and charged towards her. Just as he came close to her, Ulrich came running up from the stairs, swiped the rod from Aelita, and swung at X.A.N.A.

Not realizing that the rod was electromagnetic, X.A.N.A. held up his left arm to grab it. Upon making contact with his hand, however, he yelled loudly in pain and was forced to let go. His left arm then just dangled, paralyzed, at his side.

"I guess Franz Hopper was prepared in more ways than one if you came for him," Ulrich commented, smiling darkly. He swung again.

* * *

"Got any news for us, Jeremie?" Taelia called. She had run away from the ice formation she had created. More Kankrelats had appeared and were bearing down on her. Unsure if she had any other powers, she used the power she knew she had as best as she could. She created holes for the monsters to fall through as fast as possible, causing them to either plummet down to the Digital Sea or to jump to the side away from the created hole.

"Sorry for the wait," came Jeremie's reply. "And yes. William and Odd are on their way to help you out. The _real_ activated tower is directly south of your position."

"So am I running towards or away from the tower?" Taelia asked, already guessing at the answer.

"Away from it," Jeremie answered. "By the way, I'm assuming you have the exact same powers as Aelita so that means you can create small balls of energy that you can throw at the monsters."

"How exactly do I that?" Taelia asked incredulously, waving her hands about. Suddenly, a purple ball of energy, just how Jeremie described, appeared in her hand. Without wasting another second, she threw it at the last remaining Kankrelat. It exploded on impact.

"Never mind," she said to Jeremie. She ran forward, but her foot caught on one of the edges of the holes she had created, causing her to fall forward. She put her arms in front of her chest to brace her fall. She hit the ground pretty hard, and her hands hit her crescent moon pendant. She shook her head and looked up. Noticing a purple light from behind her, she glanced back and was shocked to see a pair of purple wings attached to her back. She thought about flapping them, and they flapped, causing her to rise in the air.

"Now this I could get used to," she commented, smiling. She flew off in the direction of the tower as fast as her wings would let her.

"We're ready, Einstein," Odd said from the scanner room.

"Okay," Jeremie said, typing like a madman. "I'm starting up the virtualization process. Your vehicles will be waiting. Transfer: Odd. Transfer: William. Scanner. Virtualization."

Seconds later, William and Odd were plummeting towards the ground and landed on the Overwing and Overboard, respectively. Odd looked at William and gave a shout of surprise. William looked at Odd, then at himself and echoed Odd's shout.

"What's wrong? Did something go buggy?" Jeremie asked.

"Not sure," William replied staring at his outfit with fear.

"William's outfit is identical to the ones he had as X.A.N.A.'s prisoner," Odd explained. "The only difference is that the eye of X.A.N.A. isn't there. Why doesn't he look like when he was first virtualized?"

"I'm not sure," Jeremie replied. "Maybe it's because William was that form for the majority of the time he was virtualized. He might still have the same powers as when he was under X.A.N.A.'s control. But be careful, William. X.A.N.A. might try to get you back."

"Well I'll try to let him down gently," William responded sarcastically before taking off in the Overwing. Odd followed close behind him.

"I can see the girls," Odd said about thirty seconds later. "And their playmates. Got any suggestions?"

"Attack from above and below," William said. "Make use of the holes Taelia created."

"Understood, General." Odd flew to the underside of the ice plateau while William rose high into the air. He hovered for a bit and then made a nosedive towards one of the final two Krabs that had Sissi surrounded. Taelia had already begun flying towards the real tower.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Super Smoke." Immediately, his body became black smoke, and he flew away from the Overwing. Just as the Krabs were about to fire at Sissi, the Overwing slammed into the back of one. At the same time, Odd had come rocketing out of one of the holes in the ground and fired a dozen Laser Arrows at the other Krab. Both exploded simultaneously.

Odd pulled the Overboard towards Sissi, and asked, "These guys weren't giving you any trouble, were they miss?" Smiling, Sissi hopped on behind Odd.

* * *

X.A.N.A. had managed to rip a wooden beam off of one of the doorframes and was sparring against Ulrich. They had learned that the electromagnetic rod also blocked the bolts of electricity from X.A.N.A.

Ulrich parried each of X.A.N.A.'s attacks with relative ease. Granted, Ulrich was able to use both of his hands while X.A.N.A. was only able to use one. Aelita was watching from a distance in case Ulrich needed help. Yumi was still downstairs, trying to find more weapons to use.

Pushing himself off of Ulrich, X.A.N.A. blasted the ground Ulrich was standing on with electricity. Ulrich flew backwards through the air and slammed against a nearby wall. He slumped to the ground unconscious. The rod rolled out of his hand.

Aelita ran forward to pick the rod up, but just before she got to it, an electric dome encompassing herself and X.A.N.A. appeared from nowhere and stopped her. She slowly turned to face X.A.N.A., her eyes narrowed. He was ten feet away and glared at her.

"I'm not afraid of you," Aelita stated.

"I know," X.A.N.A. replied. "But I bet I know what you _are_ afraid of."

"Try me," Aelita challenged him.

* * *

"I'm almost to the tower, Jeremie," Taelia said, landing on the ground about twenty yards away from the tower. "What am I supposed to do once I'm inside?"

"I'll tell you when you get in there," Jeremie answered. "Slow up a bit! Wait for the others. X.A.N.A. might have set up a trap."

"Oh calm down, Jeremie. I don't see…" she stopped in her tracks. "I stand corrected. I see Aelita."

"What?" Jeremie asked incredulously, looking closely at the monitor.

"Yeah, she's standing between me and the tower about ten feet away. Did you virtualize her?"

"No. I don't like this Taelia. Get out of there!"

"I'm not scared of my sister, imitation or the real thing." She ran towards the tower.

* * *

X.A.N.A. ran toward Aelita. She got into a defensive stance and spun on her front foot.

* * *

"Ow!" Taelia yelled as she fell to the ground. "She just did a back-wheel kick to my head!" She slowly stood up as "Aelita" came to a fighting stance, similar to one in Pencak Silat that she had studied a couple years ago.

* * *

Aelita pulled her foot down and landed in one of the stances that Ulrich taught her as X.A.N.A. slowly pulled himself to his feet.

"Told you I'm not afraid of fighting you," she taunted.

"Ah," X.A.N.A. said. "But it isn't just me you are fighting." He ran towards her again, this time jumping in the air and leading with his feet. She somersaulted underneath him and out of the way of his attack. She spun around to face him, but for whatever reason he continued running away from her. He then bounced off the dome he had made.

"Why would he have done that if he knew that dome was there?" she thought, watching X.A.N.A. who still had his back to her. "And what did he mean by that I'm not only fighting him? Unless…no. He can't do that, can he? Only one way to find out."

* * *

"Jeremie, this 'Aelita' clone-thing just put up a dome around us. I can't get to the tower!"

"Hang in there, Taelia! The others are almost to you. Just keep that clone away from you."

"Don't worry," she said, turning around with an energy field already in her hand. "That's exactly what I…" She stared at the clone. It was clapping, then pausing, then clapping again. It continued that for about thirty seconds and then stopped. Taelia didn't move, unsure of what the clapping meant. Then the clone rolled her eyes in exasperation and made fussy movement with her hands.

"No," Taelia muttered. She recognized the movement. Aelita would do it all the time whenever Taelia didn't understand the Morse code she had just clapped from the other side of a room. The clapping began again, this time Taelia focusing on the clapping more intently.

"'T…A…E…L…I…A…'" she read. "Okay, not difficult to understand. 'I…S…I…T…U…' Hmm. OH! 'Is it you?'" Taelia nodded vigorously, and made the energy field disappear. The clone smiled. "Jeremie, call Yumi!"

* * *

Yumi had just run up into the hallway in time to see X.A.N.A. nod vigorously to Aelita when her phone rang.

"Jeremie!" she began in a whisper. "Things have gotten…"

"I'm well aware of that," he interrupted her. "Now listen closely. Taelia is on Lyoko and is caught inside a dome with a clone of Aelita. Is there a similar situation with Aelita?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Taelia and I think that X.A.N.A. has linked the clone's actions to Aelita's and his actions to Taelia's. We also believe that Aelita has figured that out as well. You need to give Aelita a sign to know that we are on the same page. Taelia is saying to tell her to 'Bake a cake.' Whatever _that_ means."

"Okay," she said, also confused as to the meaning of the statement. Turning to the force field, she said loudly, "Aelita. Bake a cake."

Aelita looked over at Yumi, perplexed. Then, she saw the phone in Yumi's hand. She pointed to X.A.N.A., cocking her head to the side. He nodded, also appearing perplexed as to why he was nodding so much.

"She figured it out!" thought Aelita excitedly. She calmly walked over to the center. X.A.N.A. did the same. They both bent their knees, hands to their sides. Then, they hit their thighs, clapped, and clapped each other's hands twice. Then they repeated, keeping a steady rhythm.

* * *

"Jeremie," William's voice came through Jeremie's earpiece. "We've reached Taelia, and we see the clone. But, it looks like they're playing Patty Cake, I think."

"What?" Jeremie asked, taken aback. "Yumi, are Aelita and X.A.N.A.…?"

"Playing Patty Cake?" Yumi finished for him. "Yes. Why? I don't have a clue."

A warning appeared on Jeremie's screen. "Uh oh," Jeremie said aloud.

"I never like it when you say that!" Odd yelled.

"X.A.N.A. is trying to take control of the towers I activated in order to buy us more time with the Eiffel Tower. Whatever those girls are doing, they better make it quick!" He began working to strengthen the towers with energy from Sector 5. Unbeknownst to him, two programs had started running on their own accord, both of which seemed to be building something in Sector 5.

Suddenly and quite randomly, as soon as Jeremie was done strengthening the towers, a window opened on the main screen, stating that he had just received an email. Confused but not really concerning himself with it, Jeremie set it aside in the secure part of the Supercomputer for him to read later.

* * *

X.A.N.A. had appeared just as confused as the others were at the sisters' actions. He was getting really annoyed that he was playing a game that only toddlers play. When the email arrived at the Supercomputer, X.A.N.A.'s eyes flared angrily. He broke the connection to Taelia's movements and stopped clapping like an idiot.

Aelita noticed immediately, but continued playing Patty Cake. She clapped her hands twice before continuing to clap the hands that weren't there anymore. She knew Taelia would understand what that meant.

X.A.N.A. walked right up to her and was about to strike when he was interrupted by the sounds of both sisters' voices saying in unison, "Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man. Bake me a cake as fast as you CAN!" On the last word, both girls threw an uppercut into the jaw of who was across from them. Both X.A.N.A. and the Aelita-clone staggered backward and fell to the ground. William chose that moment to whip out his Zweihander, which looked like it had when he was first virtualized, and strike the dome with as much force as he could muster. Both the dome on Lyoko and the dome on Earth fell as a result. Taelia took off in the direction of the tower while Odd sent a dozen laser arrows at the clone before it could get back up.

Yumi had picked up the rod during the Patty Cake. She now handed it to Aelita, but with a steak knife tied to one of its ends. Aelita looked alarmed when she saw it.

"Finish him, Aelita," Ulrich said, coming to. "Finish this before it gets out of hand like last time." Aelita hesitantly grabbed the rod and turned around to face X.A.N.A. Unfortunately, X.A.N.A. had disappeared.

"Coward," Ulrich muttered, groaning a bit. As Yumi went over to help Ulrich, Aelita stared at the place X.A.N.A. had stood. There had to be another reason as to why he left.

* * *

"Hurry Taelia," Jeremie cried. "My towers just fell! The Eiffel Tower is done for if you don't move it!" Taking note of the email, he quickly stored it into the secure part of the Supercomputer, the part X.A.N.A. couldn't get to. He glanced at the video feed from the Eiffel Tower's security cameras. The fire had overwhelmed the electricity and had begun its descent from the top. It was already halfway to the ground. He could hear the screams of the people down below as the burning metal groaned and began to bend.

"I'm in, Jeremie!" Taelia yelled. This time, the tower didn't disappear. In fact, the platform she was standing on began to glow. She walked to the middle of it and gazed upward. Just when she did so, she began to rise towards a floating platform towards the top of the tower. Upon landing on it, she walked to its center. An interface appeared in front of her. "What do I do now?"

"Just place your hand on the interface in front of you," Jeremie replied, his voice calm but his heart frantic. Taelia did as she was told.

* * *

"No!" the red-haired man cried. "I sent it to the wrong person!"

"That you did," said a voice behind him. "But you still sent it, and now you'll pay for that." X.A.N.A. raised his hands, and the blast from the electricity sent the man flying through the air. He didn't scream in pain though, much to X.A.N.A.'s surprise.

* * *

The interface then read, "Taelia. Code Lyoko." Outside, the red flames on the tower turned blue. From the last surviving security camera, Jeremie saw the flames die away. But quite suddenly, the top of the Eiffel Tower began to brake off and fall towards the ground.

"No choice but to return to the past," Jeremie stated, launching the program. Soon, all that could be seen was white light.

The sunlight gleamed off of Taelia's purple necklace. Aelita removed her hand off of Taelia's in an effort to shield her eyes from the brightness. She took a sip of water out of her glass.

"How did we get back here?" Sissi asked, looking about the diner.

"A Return-to-the-Past," Jeremie explained, standing up. "A program on the Supercomputer to send us back in time. No one remembers a thing, except X.A.N.A and us. The Eiffel Tower should still be in one piece. Come on. Let's get to the factory. Something tells me we aren't finished yet." The others stood up and followed Jeremie outside to the cars, this time without people staring at them. They got in their cars and drove up the road a half a mile. One by one, they drove across the bridge and into the factory. They parked the cars just outside the elevator.

"So X.A.N.A. just left?" Jeremie asked as the elevator descended.

"Yeah," Ulrich replied. "It's as if he gave up or something."

"I disagree," Aelita countered. "Running away has never been in his cards. Why would it be now? He isn't a coward. I think something had caught his attention."

"Some_thing_ or some_one_?" Odd asked. Everyone looked at him quizzically. "He _did_ say that someone had turned the Siberian Supercomputer back on. He never said that the guy was an ally or had escaped from X.A.N.A. Maybe he did something that X.A.N.A. wasn't pleased about." The elevator came to a stop and the doors to the lab opened, showing X.A.N.A. standing by the computer in the lab. He glanced towards them.

"I was hoping you'd come," he said, more to himself than anyone else.

"What do you want now?" William asked.

"Same as before: the contents of that safe."

"We can't open it," Aelita argued. "We don't have the combination, and, knowing my father, it won't take just one day to figure it out." X.A.N.A. appeared to not like the response she had given. Aelita walked towards him resolutely, continuing, "I have an idea. Let's make a deal, hmm?" X.A.N.A. raised his eyebrows. "We will work on cracking that combination if _you_ don't activate any towers or launch any attacks."

"Against you?"

"None at all."

He paused, contemplating her offer. "You will focus 100% on the combination?"

"When we can," Aelita clarified. "We do have another life that we have to live. If you don't want any additional interventions with your plans, I certainly think that it would be wise that we still keep up the pretense that school and the like are the most important aspects of our lives. Anything less will cause curious eyes to wander this way. And we can't always guarantee that the Return-to-the-Past will work." She paused, letting her words sink in. "We will work on getting into that safe, but not at the expense of exposing us and, more importantly," she added sarcastically, "you." She stared at him, knowing that he was going it over in his head.

"Deal," he said, offering his hand out to her. She grasped it and shook it, staring resolutely into his eyes. He then leaned forward and whispered in her ear, barely loud enough for her to hear, "But if I find that you are getting too distracted, I'm going after you first." He let go of her hand and disappeared.

Nobody said anything. They just stood there staring at the place where X.A.N.A. had stood. After what seemed like an eternity, Jeremie finally walked forward and sat down in the computer chair.

"No way," he said in wonder. "The _Skidbladnir_. It's…it's…it's back!" This statement caused the others to crowd around the screen, trying to get a closer look.

"You're kidding," Ulrich said.

"I'm not," Jeremie replied. "And there isn't just one. There are two of them!" Sure enough, in the docking bay in Sector 5, there were two _Skidbladnirs_. One looked just like the old one. The second one, however, looked more advanced. It appeared that there was a dome covering the Nav-Skids on the second one.

"But how?" Yumi asked. Jeremie began typing to try to determine an answer. A dialogue window opened, and he read the information it gave.

"They were made while we were fighting X.A.N.A. just a little bit ago!" he replied. His face suddenly became sullen. "Made from two programs that Franz Hopper had created just before he died. There's an audio message here too. I'll play it." He clicked on the file, and a window opened.

Then, they heard Franz Hopper's voice say, "To my dearest Aelita, if you are listening to this, then that means the chances of us seeing each other again are gone. It also means that X.A.N.A. had survived against the multi-agent program and is still causing problems. I was disappointed to witness the destruction of the beautiful ship that you and Jeremie had tirelessly created. So, as a final way to help you in the fight, I have given you two ships. As you can see, one is clearly more advanced than the other. I won't go over the details here. Jeremie is more than capable of telling them to you himself. I love you very much, Aelita, but you will have to continue your journey without me from now on. For that I am truly sorry. I wish the very best to you and to all of your friends. Love, Daddy." Aelita was crying into Taelia's shoulder.

"To my lovely Taelia," Hopper's voice continued. Taelia looked up, stunned. So did Aelita. "Well, now you know what happened to Daddy and 'Lita all those years ago. I'm sorry that you had to be dragged into this mess. But I am glad that you and your sister are finally together again. Please don't judge me on what I had done. It is not right to judge the wrongs of the past, especially if you don't know the whole story. Anyway, I love you and your sister with all of my heart. Remember that I will always be with you two, whether you can see me or not. Good luck with all of your goals. Love, Daddy." Now, Taelia was crying. "P.S. I have left many files and programs on the Supercomputer that will be available to you when the moment is right. I hope that they will aide you as much as possible and make the upcoming challenges easier." The window closed, and the lab went quiet.

"Come on," Jeremie said, putting his arms around the girls. "I believe there's a fudge waiting for us at your house."

* * *

The red-haired man flew through the air and slammed against the far wall. His body still shook wildly even after he was no longer being electrocuted. But he refused to utter even a whimper of pain. He had dealt with worse.

"I have to admit," X.A.N.A. said, walking up to his prisoner. "I was a little impressed that you made that video. But I wasn't about to let you send it to someone as a cry for help." He glanced down at a CD in its case next to the computer. He picked it up and laughed. "Don't tell me you put it on this. What were you going to do with it? Mail it to your family for them to come rescue you?" He set the case back down on the table and continued, "You should be grateful that you're still alive, you know. I don't have to do that. But you had revived me. So, while I may torture you and imprison you, I won't kill you. All I ask is one small favor: Just tell me your name. I'd rather call you by name than by 'Prisoner' or 'Guy'." No response. "Fine. Tell you what. I will give you good food and water, and I won't torture you for..." He paused. "…a week if you tell me your name. How does that sound?"

The man said nothing at first, contemplating his response. Then he said very slowly, but not without spite, "How about you give me my watch back and then we can chat?"

Frowning in bewilderment only slightly, X.A.N.A. pulled a golden pocket watch out of his pocket and set it on top of the CD case on the table. He gestured for the man to speak.

But instead of a name, the man said loudly and clearly, "One…two…three!" And then, in a flash of blue light, both the watch and the CD case vanished. X.A.N.A.'s mouth fell open, and he looked back at the red-haired man. The man smirked, while saying, "The name's Weas–" But X.A.N.A. electrocuted him until he was unconscious, not letting him finish his statement.

* * *

Somewhere far away from that research facility, the pocket watch and CD case appeared in a garden with a flash of bright blue light. A girl with red hair inside the nearby house saw the flash, ran outside, and picked up the two objects. She looked at the CD case with a puzzled expression. She turned around and walked away from the garden.

Upon reentering the house, she called out while waving the case, "Ron, our dear brother sent us something! Can you ask Hermione to tell us what in Merlin's name it is?"


	9. Chapter 9: Plans

**Chapter 9: Plans**

A group of cloaked figures stood in a circle around two individuals bound, gagged, and faces covered by hoods. Every now and then, said individuals struggled against their bonds, but to no avail.

They were in the middle of a forest. It was almost sunrise, and the air was unusually cool, already making a thin layer of frost on the ground. Not a creature could be heard. It was dead silent save for the steady breathing of the cloaked individuals.

"What are we going to do with them, Macnair?" one man asked another.

"Do what the Dark Lord would have wanted," the one called Macnair replied. "We kill the blood traitor and the murderer." One of the prisoners tried to say something, but the gag only allowed a grunt to come out. "Let me see their faces. I want to see the lights leave their eyes as they accept their fate."

Two figures came forward and yanked off the prisoners' hoods. The two men looked around, taking in their surroundings. The black-haired man focused on the cloaked figures, as if he was trying to see each one of their faces. His face was dirty and had a bruise on his right cheek that had already begun to swell and turn a nasty shade of purple. His black, round glasses were luckily still stuck to his face. While he did look concerned about the situation, he remained quite calm.

The same could not be said about the second, red-haired, and more panic-stricken individual seated next to him. He was frantically looking around him, desperately trying to find a way out of his predicament. He refused to look any of his captors in the face; afraid they might spit fire at him or something.

Something beeped in the red-haired man's jeans pocket. Macnair quickly grabbed the item and held it in his hand while it continued to beep loudly. He looked at it with a bewildered expression and became more and more irritated with each beep.

"How do you shut the bloody thing up?" he yelled at the two men on the ground. The black-haired man just stared at him, daring Macnair to ungag him. After a few more seconds of continuous beeping, Macnair yanked the gag off both men.

After first taking plenty of time to stretch his jaw, the black-haired man finally said, "Push the green button on the front."

Macnair pushed the indicated button, and the beeping ceased. Macnair relaxed and then pointed his wand at the man who had spoken.

"And now, Mr. Potter," he said, calmly. "You will die first."

"I'm thinking not," said a young female voice from just behind Macnair. Just as he spun around, a Stunner sent him flying through the air into the nearby tree. At that moment, the two men on the ground stood up quickly, having already untied their bonds while the loud beeping had the Death Eaters distracted. They each tackled a Death Eater and wrestled to get their own wands back.

Meanwhile, Hermione Granger, the girl who had Stunned Macnair, had begun dueling with two of the Death Eaters, and within seconds, had their limbs tangled in a crumpled heap on the forest floor. Another Death Eater was about to curse her, when the red-haired man, Percy Weasley, jumped up and, using his newly retrieved wand, removed all of the bones in the Death Eater's body. The Death Eater slouched to the ground in a sloppy heap.

A tall, young man and a short, young woman with wavy blonde hair had also stepped out from behind other trees and joined the fight. Luna Lovegood looked as calm as ever as she Confunded, Petrified, and even maimed her opponents. Neville Longbottom looked like he was throwing a heavy club around, even though it was just his wand as he shielded many of the curses that were sent at him and Luna.

Harry saw his wand fall out of the Death Eater's pocket and begin to roll away. He punched the blond, bearded man, knocking him out cold. Harry lunged for his wand. Another Death Eater got in the way and pointed her wand at Harry. He braced himself for the curse, but it never came.

When he looked up, he saw golden flames had formed a shield around him while a wand floated in midair in the center. Seconds later, a shining, golden and red wave erupted out of the wand and launched itself at the Death Eater. Her Shield Charm did nothing to stop the wave as it crashed into her, sending her flying backwards at high speeds through the forest and out of sight.

Having seen the wave and the golden flames, the rest of the Death Eaters panicked and Disapparated away, leaving only a black smoky trail in their wake. The five remaining individuals watched as they disappeared into the horizon where the sun had just risen to greet the morning. As soon as the last Death Eater was gone from sight, the golden flames vanished and the Elder Wand fell to the ground.

Standing up, Harry sighed and shook his head. He picked up both of the wands and stuffed his holly, phoenix-feather wand in his back pocket. He stared at the Elder Wand for a while, almost as if he was trying to see through it.

Hermione walked up behind him and asked, "And remind me why you don't want to use that wand?"

Harry sighed again. "It's because challengers will swarm like bees trying to win it off of me. Plus, if I use it in a duel and lose it, then the deadly trail of the Elder Wand through history will begin anew. I don't want this kind of power. You'd think when you break the wand in half, it won't work anymore."

It was true, though. Shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts a few months ago, Harry had broken the Elder Wand in half and threw it into the valley beside where Hogwarts was perched. He had reasoned that its power would be finished and its bloody trail through history would end. But, while he was assisting the teachers at Hogwarts repair the school, a whole wall began to crumble and fall on top of him. Before Harry could react, the wall stopped falling and repaired itself in an instant, not even leaving a scratch. That was when Harry saw the Elder Wand floating next to him at eye-level, pointing at the newly repaired wall. Perturbed at its appearance, he had thrown it out of a nearby window. But, when he turned away from the window, the Elder Wand appeared on the ground in front of him with a flash of golden light.

He didn't know how it was possible. Hermione couldn't offer a reasonable explanation. Ron tried to convince Harry that it was a sign that he shouldn't get rid of the wand, but Harry ignored him. Harry had even gone to Dumbledore's portrait in the Headmaster's office to ask what was going on. When he got there though, the Resurrection Stone, his dad's old Invisibility cloak, _and_ the Elder Wand sat on the desk, as if they were expecting him. That's when he figured it out. After the events at Malfoy Manor, Harry technically was the owner of all three of the Deathly Hallows. Nobody, not even Dumbledore, had ever gained possession of all of them at the same time. That on top of the fact that he had faced death in the eyes and was not afraid of doing so again apparently meant he could handle the power of all three of the Deathly Hallows. Whether he wanted said power was painfully irrelevant.

Still, he could not resist using the Elder Wand a couple of times. He used it to repair his holly, phoenix-feather wand that had broken when Voldemort's snake, Nagini, had attacked him and Hermione in Godric's Hallow. He also, much to the pleasure of the teachers at Hogwarts, used the wand to repair the school. Even Professor McGonagall was surprised when all Harry did was say "_Reparo_" and the wand repaired the whole school in less than ten minutes. They could barely tell a battle had actually happened there. The fires in the Room of Requirement still raged and prevented the usage of that room. Even with no door, intense heat filled the nearby corridors. The Elder Wand even added a touch that no one had expressed as an idea: statues of those who had lost their lives in the battle stood along the sides of the viaduct that led into the castle. That additional touch had finally convinced Hermione of the possibility that wands could think for themselves, something that Harry had long since accepted as fact.

In the months since then, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and various members of Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix had been hunting down and trying to capture the Death Eaters who had fled from the battle. Unfortunately, that task had proven to be more difficult than initially anticipated. While the Death Eaters still held their bigoted belief that Muggles were scum, most had swallowed their pride and hid in Muggle society to keep from being caught. With Kingsley Shacklebolt as the Minister of Magic, the Order of the Phoenix and the D.A. had access to many reports that had been filed about possible magic-influenced events that had been noticed by Muggles. Most of the reports had been filed prior to Voldemort's return, but multiple Aurors had confirmed that Dark witches and wizards had been acting in several of the reports. They also found that Death Eaters had gone to the majority of those locations, which were scattered around the globe. Other foreign governments, especially those in Europe and the Americas, cooperated willingly with the Ministry and even sent in some of their own Aurors to hunt down the Death Eaters.

"Come on," Neville said. "Let's tie up the ones we've got here. Luna and I can take this lot to the Ministry. You three can head back home and get cleaned up." Harry nodded in agreement, his bruised cheek throbbing as it swelled bigger. As soon as the unconscious Death Eaters had been securely tied together, they all Disapparated from the forest, and Harry could see the familiar sight of the Burrow once again.

A girl with red hair came running out. "It's about time you got back! Mum's been worried sick, as usual," she said. "What took you so long?" Noticing Harry's bruise she cast _Episkey_ on it, immediately relieving the pain and swelling. He hugged her tight for that.

"Ask him," Harry said, stepping back from Ginny and pointing his thumb at Percy.

Percy frowned and retorted back, "I'm sorry, but it wasn't _my_ idea to get a closer look!"

"True. But I wasn't the one who yelped when a lizard crawled over my hand. It wasn't even poisonous!"

"Anyway, how did you get away?" Ginny asked loudly, ending the argument.

"Hermione called me on my –" Percy paused. "Spell phone?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "_Cell_ phone," she corrected.

"Right," he said. "And they answered it."

"It was my way of knowing they had been captured," she explained. "Neville, Luna, and I went and helped them. Neville and Luna say, 'Hi' by the way. We would've been there longer but…" she trailed off, looking at the Elder Wand in Harry's hand.

"Understood," Ginny said, following Hermione's gaze. Harry grunted in displeasure. They began to walk inside. "Who did you get?"

"No one really important," Harry said, holding Ginny's hand. "But we did get Macnair."

"Finally," Hermione commented. "He had been evading us for a month since we first confronted him."

"Oh thank goodness!" a voice from the kitchen suddenly cried as they crossed the threshold. Molly Weasley ran to embrace the trio.

"Good…to see…you, too…Mum," Percy choked out, gasping for breath as she hugged his neck tightly.

"I was worried sick about you," she replied.

"Mum," Ron called out from the kitchen. "I keep telling you: with the Elder Wand literally attached to Harry's side, he and anybody with him will be invincible!"

Harry groaned. "Please stop saying that, Ron," he called back. "One of these days, someone _will_ hear you say that and _will_ try to claim that invincible title from me. I would very much prefer to avoid that confrontation, thank you."

Before Ron could respond, however, Mrs. Weasley said, "That's enough arguing! Would you three like some breakfast?"

"Actually, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, heading for the stairs. "I'm rather exhausted from the night. I can't speak for these two, but I'm going to take a nap." Percy and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Mrs. Weasley said, appearing slightly disappointed. "But don't sleep until eleven."

* * *

At precisely 11:00, Harry woke up to the sound of bacon sizzling in the kitchen. The aroma of the Weasley matriarch's delicious biscuits had already found its way into Harry's room. Harry slowly got out of bed, put on a red t-shirt and jeans, and descended down to the kitchen. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Percy followed shortly behind him.

Halfway through, Arthur Weasley came home and joined in the meal as well. He told them that Neville and Luna had successfully dropped Macnair and his unconscious cohorts off at the Ministry and that Aurors planned to begin questioning them as soon as they came to.

"We also had to send some from the Order to help safely escort the Malfoy family from their manor to their new home," Mr. Weasley continued before taking another helping of scrambled eggs.

"And why exactly was that necessary?" Ron asked, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

"It's a necessary step for all of the Death Eaters who had defected from Voldemort's ranks _during_ the War," Hermione explained for Mr. Weasley. "They need protection from those Death Eaters that still support Voldemort. The Malfoy's need protection most especially since some Death Eaters could go so far as to blame _them_ for Voldemort's death."

"What did they do? I don't recall seeing them in the Battle of Hogwarts," Percy inquired.

"Well, for starters," Harry explained. "Narcissa Malfoy lied directly to Voldemort when she checked to see if I was dead. Then, after I had rolled out of Hagrid's arms, Malfoy ran out of the crowd of Death Eaters and handed me my wand. The only reason why Voldemort didn't curse Malfoy was because I had casted _Confringo_ at Nagini. And probably because he was in shock of still seeing me alive. All of the Death Eaters were more distracted by me than by Malfoy's actions. But that doesn't mean they didn't notice."

"So does that mean we'll have to be nice to him now?" Ron whined. Hermione elbowed him sharply in the ribs. Suddenly, they heard a thud from the window. They quickly turned and saw Errol climb back onto the windowsill.

Shaking her head, Ginny got up from the table and took the letters out of the old owl's beak. Sitting back down next to Harry, she began to pass them out to the appropriate people.

Picking his up, Ron said, "But these look like Hogwarts letters! I thought we were done."

"Not according to Kingsley and Professor McGonagall," Mr. Weasley countered. "They both agreed that all of the students who attended Hogwarts last year were going to have to repeat a year. The curriculum was very restricted with Voldemort's control of Hogwarts and the Ministry. They felt that in order for students to have a complete education, those students would have to take another year at Hogwarts."

"So that means even _I_ will have to take eight years?" Ginny asked, getting up to take her dishes to the sink.

"Yes, even you Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said, looking at the list of schoolbooks. "We can go to Diagon Alley to get these later today."

"I _need_ to go back," Hermione added. "There is just so much that I have got to learn."

"Like what?" Harry asked incredulously, taking a bite of toast.

Hermione paused, clearly trying to remember something. "I can't remember exactly which courses I still have to take in order to be qualified for the job I want," she said, standing up. "I've been so busy lately with the Order and the D.A. that I haven't been focused on it as much as I should. I have it written down in my room. I'll be right back." She walked away.

"So does that mean for seven years at Hogwarts, there will be _eighth_ years?" Percy asked his father.

Mr. Weasley nodded. "Professor McGonagall has already made arrangements with each of the Heads of Houses to have the incoming first years room with the second years, since technically those students will all be in the same classes. It will be as if last school year never happened and the first year class has doubled in size."

"Woah!" Ginny shouted and quickly ran outside. The others watched her disappear from view as she went to the garden.

They heard her walk back inside and call out, "Ron, our dear brother sent us something! Can you ask Hermione to tell us what in Merlin's name it is?"

"Ask her yourself!" Ron yelled back, showing the world his mouth full of bacon and triggering an angry look of disapproval from his mother. Ginny reentered the room just in front of Hermione.

"What is it that you need identifying?" asked Hermione, sitting back down next to Ron. Ginny placed a pocket watch and a case on the table in front of Hermione.

"It's a…uh…DC, right?" Ron asked.

"No, it's a DS! Right, Hermione?" Ginny countered, before Hermione had a chance to say anything.

Hermione shook her head and put her face in her hand. "You're both wrong!" she exclaimed. "It's a _CD_! Honestly, can't you remember _anything_ that I showed you?"

"Apparently one of us can," Percy pointed out, indicating the pocket watch.

"My guess would be that it's George's watch," she replied. "He was the only one of you to actually _apply_ his knowledge on computers."

Since some Death Eaters had blended into Muggle society to avoid capture, the only way to track them down was to blend in as well. In the case of most wizards, like the Weasley's, knowing how to use basic Muggle technology was a challenge. In response, many Muggle-born witches and wizards, Hermione included, gave lessons on the basics of how to use the devices, much to Mr. Weasley's absolute delight. Hermione had taken it upon herself to teach the whole Weasley family how to use cell phones and computers.

George Weasley, Ron and Ginny's older brother, had taken his knowledge of computers and applied it to his joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. After getting permission from the Ministry, he was able to make a Muggle joke shop in the center of London, selling only Ministry-approved products. With a computer, George had been able to make the shop more successful. He had even gone to several Muggle computer seminars to hone his skills further than Hermione could. Those that knew him understood that this thirst for knowledge was a way for George to cope with the loss of his twin brother, Fred, with whom he had opened the joke shop. No one dared to say it to his face though.

"Is there a way for you to see what is on it?" Harry asked.

"I have my new laptop computer up in my room," Hermione answered, getting up again and walking out of the room. Everyone else hurriedly finished off their plates of food and placed them in the sink to be washed. They just finished clearing the table when Hermione came back, carrying a laptop bag.

She set the bag on the table and pulled out her laptop. Opening it up, she waited for it to turn on, all the while Mr. Weasley staring at it in amazement. She opened the case, put the CD in, and waited.

"What are you–" Ron began, but Hermione held up a hand, silencing him instantly. She clicked on a folder that had appeared and opened the single file that it contained. A video file opened and started playing.

It showed George looking very tired and worn out. His hair was a mess, and he already had a couple bruises on his face. His black cloak was tattered, his black suit was torn, and his black tie was undone. His golden Weasley's Wizard Wheezes pin was broken in half. Behind George was a large half-sphere with wires sticking out of it in all directions.

He started to speak in a hushed tone. "Okay, I don't have much time but I'll say as much as I can. I have been taken prisoner. I am located inside that Siberian research facility from that one report. I can safely say though that the report is dead wrong. Death Eaters had _nothing_ to do with what had happened here. Something…worse had. You-Know-Who was mad but this…this _thing_ is completely mental! I don't even think it is human to be honest. But it is extremely intelligent and very, _very_ powerful. I still don't know a whole lot, but here is what I do know:

"This thing may have come from France. He, I guess I could call him a 'he', first spoke to me in French, but when he realized I couldn't speak French, he started speaking in English. His 'powers', if you will, are mainly electrical and computer-based. I don't know if he has any allies but he mentioned something about visiting France Hopper's daughter before he left a minute ago. He does rant quite a bit though, and he–" The video stopped playing and the window closed.

"What happened?!" asked Mrs. Weasley alarmed. Hermione tried playing the video again but got the same result. The video ended in the middle of George's sentence.

"There isn't any more of the video," Hermione said quietly. "He didn't finish copying the video to the CD. Unless he sends us the rest of the video, we'll never know what all he said."

"But we do know where he's at, right?" Harry asked, more to Percy than to anyone else.

"Yes," Percy said. "I know what report he's talking about. The report was filed a few years ago by the Department of Aurors in Russia. It discussed that some Muggle reindeer hunters had reported to the local law enforcement that they heard strange sounds and saw flashes of light coming from inside a supposedly abandoned research facility in the middle of northern Siberia. With Voldemort being the world's most recent powerful Dark wizard, the Russian Aurors thought it wise to send a report to the Ministry to inform them of possible wanted English Dark wizards acting in Siberia. Scrimgeour, the head of the Aurors at the time, decided that he wouldn't send his own Aurors out until the Russian Aurors could provide actual proof of Death Eater activity in Siberia. Of course, the response was forgotten about because the entire Department of Magical Law Enforcement had become a little chaotic. This had happened at the same time the Chamber of Secrets had been reopened."

"George and I had looked at that report together a few weeks ago. We both agreed that it was worth checking up on. George had volunteered, and I let him. He had taken with him a copy of the layout of the research facility, which had been included in the report. That ball-like thing in the background of the video I believe was the central part of what is called a Supercomputer."

"Like a computer that has the capabilities of doing what a hundred regular computers could do?" Ginny asked, glancing at Hermione, who shrugged.

"I guess that's the best way to describe it," Percy answered. "It has been a while since I last read the report. I do remember something about the Russian Aurors were unable to Apparate into the facility. Maybe that means George can't Disapparate out."

"Then that must mean we can't just simply Apparate in either," Harry stated. "Do we go rescue him now?"

"No," Hermione said quickly, closing her laptop. "We need to have a better idea of what we're up against. As of right now, we haven't a clue. A good start would be finding out who this 'France Hopper' is and whether or not he's also an enemy of ours. Harry and I can do that while the rest of you _spend some time as a family_ and go shopping for school."

"I would much rather go with you and Harry," Ron muttered.

"Harry and I will probably be going to a university library or something of that nature. And honestly, Ron, you'd get lost within two minutes." Thinking about it for a bit, Ron eventually nodded his agreement.

"Well then that's settled," Mrs. Weasley said. "We'll get your books as well while we're in Diagon Alley. Come here and tell me which books you'll be needing."

A few hours later, Harry and Hermione were seated in one of the public London libraries in a secluded corner away from prying eyes. They had read dozens of articles that had contained the words "France" and "Hopper" already. Nothing matching what they were looking for had come up in any English documents. They were now reading some French documents. Luckily, Hermione knew a spell that allowed a person to understand any language, whether it was by reading or writing, as well as allow native speakers of that language to understand them perfectly. She only knew how to use the spell for French and Spanish but wasn't concerned about that part.

"Another dead end!" Harry grumbled in frustration, shutting the book he had been reading.

"I'm running out of ideas, Harry," Hermione sighed, also shutting her book.

"How about we try searching for something, _anything_, that has the_ exact_ phrase 'France Hopper?'"

"It's worth a shot." She scooted her chair over to the computer catalog and typed in her search query. "'Your search has returned with no results,'" she read.

"Well, good! I'm glad we've established that!"

"Are we sure that George said 'France' as in the country? Or is there another possible spelling for the man's name?"

Harry thought for a minute. "The only other possible spellings I can think of would replace the 'c' with an 's' or a 'z.' Try any of those."

Hermione adjusted the spelling. Her face lit up when the screen changed. "You entered 'Franze Hopper,'" she read. "Did you mean '**_Franz_** Hopper? Showing results for '**_Franz _**Hopper.'" Harry waited for her to continue reading the results. "First result! The phrase Franz Hopper was found in an article from last week's Paris newspaper." Harry scooted his chair closer.

Hermione read aloud, "Kadic Academy Science Teacher Promoted to American University Researcher. Suzanne Hertz, head of the Department of the Sciences at Kadic Academy, has recently been offered, and accepted, a position as a head chemical researcher at Stanford University in the United States.

"'I am truly honored and humbled to receive this offer,' Hertz, age 65, told us. 'To be able to work alongside top researchers is a marvelous opportunity.'

"Hertz has worked at Kadic Academy for over ten years since replacing Franz Hopper when he had mysteriously disappeared."

"So, he was a science teacher!" Harry said excitedly, happy that they hopefully found someone matching their guy.

"There's a second result," Hermione said. "It's a news clip from several years ago." She clicked the link and the anchorman stared back at the two of them.

"This afternoon a science teacher has been reported missing," he said. "After leaving work yesterday at Kadic Academy, Franz Hopper's coworkers say that he never showed up this morning and hadn't called to explain why. Later that day, after still no one hearing from him, police were sent to his house to check up on him and found no one but several possessions broken and strewn about the house, as possible evidence of a robbery or a struggle. Police are considering the possibility that he had been kidnapped but can't say for certain." The video ended, and Hermione continued looking through the results.

"Nothing I'm finding on him says that he had a daughter though," Hermione said after a minute of silence. "But I feel like the name 'Hopper' rings a bell for some reason, but I can't think of why."

"Hmm," Harry mumbled. "I think it's worth checking out. A science teacher that has been missing for years, and the thing that has captured George mentions a man of the same name. Hardly a coincidence in my opinion, regardless on whether or not he has a daughter."

"I agree," Hermione said, picking up her pile of books to put away. "Let's get going."

A little while later, they Apparated in the middle of a forest. The sky above had already started to turn orange from the approaching sunset. They looked around confused.

"I thought we were going to Kadic Academy in Paris," Harry said, thinking they weren't specific enough.

"So did I," Hermione replied. "But I don't see…" She trailed off, something catching her attention.

Harry followed her eyes. In the distance, he could see a clearing and several large buildings, including a couple cafeterias. That must be it! They jogged towards the clearing and soon found themselves on the campus of the academy. They saw about a hundred students and their parents milling about, carrying supplies to their dorms. No one noticed the pair's appearance or even paid any attention to them.

"I'll give Ron and Ginny a call," Harry said, whipping out his cell phone. "I have an idea."

* * *

"–I don't know if he has any allies but he mentioned something about visiting Franz Hopper's daughter before he left a minute ago. He does rant quite a bit though, and he mentions Franz Hopper's name multiple times. So, I'm not sure Franz Hopper _is_ an ally of his. He could end up being an ally of ours. You might want to see what he has done to make this thing so irritated and angry.

"I really hope you guys get this. He can easily become a new threat to the safety of the entire world. He mentioned he came pretty close a few years ago. And…oh no! I think I hear him coming back! Listen, do what you can to find out more about him and Franz Hopper. Oh and just a side note: Get me out of here! Sincerely, George." The video ended and Jeremie closed his laptop.

"That's a nifty translation program you've got there, Jeremie," Ulrich said, getting up from the kitchen table in the Hermitage and retrieving a second helping of Aelita's fudge. "For a minute there, I couldn't understand his gibberish."

"You never took English, did you?" William asked, cocking his head to the side only slightly.

"No. Why? Did you understand it?"

"Perfectly."

"But how–?"

"Not important right now!" Yumi spoke loudly over their bickering. She turned to Jeremie. "So that video was attached to the email you had received while they were on Lyoko?"

"Yeah," Jeremie said, stretching his arms. "I recognized the IP address of the Siberian supercomputer we never destroyed, so I figured it'd be something important to store in the secured part of the Supercomputer in case of a Return to the Past." He glanced at Aelita. She said nothing and appeared to be lost in thought. Something concerned her about the "you-know-who" part but was debating with herself on whether or not to voice her concern. She absentmindedly fiddled with her bracelet, which Taelia had given back to her.

"What should we do?" she heard Sissi ask. "It seems that George here really wants us to rescue him."

"Not us," Aelita said suddenly. They looked at her. "That message was meant for someone else. He sounded like he was certain of who was going to see the message. I don't know what he meant by 'you-know-who,' did you?" They all shook their heads. "No. And if he had known who we were, don't you think he would know that the daughter of Franz Hopper was going to see the message? He sounded like he didn't know who my father was."

"So does that mean we do nothing for him?" Taelia asked in a concerned voice.

"Definitely not!" Aelita answered, defiantly. "While it would mean X.A.N.A. would have a reason to attack us, I think the benefits of rescuing George would outweigh the costs."

"Why do you think he's keeping George prisoner?" Odd asked, glancing in William's direction. "He said himself that he can't possess George."

"Actually, he never said that," William countered. "We just assumed that was the case. Perhaps he's keeping him to learn more about what George knows?"

"Maybe," Jeremie answered him. "Maybe it's to keep George from spreading the word to other people about him as well as repay George for bringing him back by keeping George alive. But it doesn't matter. What does matter is if we can get him out of there. He could be able to tell us information about X.A.N.A. might be planning."

"I don't think it would be wise of us to try something today," Yumi commented. "But I do believe sooner would be better than later."

"I agree," Odd said. "But when? School starts tomorrow, and like always, Delmas has an assembly planned for the first day of the term."

"We don't start until the day after tomorrow," Jeremie said, gesturing to Taelia and himself. "Before then would be a good idea in my book."

"Then I guess that leaves tomorrow," Sissi said, sighing a little. "The assembly isn't anything important. Dad has already told me what it will be about. It's only on making this year a positive one and any staff changes. Mrs. Hertz is leaving, by the way. She got a huge job offer at a university in the United States."

"Yeah, I know," Aelita grumbled. "I saw it in last week's newspaper. Darn, she was a good coach for the science club. I just hope the new guy or girl is as good as she was."

"So Taelia and I will wait for you guys at the factory tomorrow," Jeremie said, standing up from the table. "We'll take a look at the features and upgrades to the _Skids_ Franz Hopper generously gave us."

"Sounds like a plan," Aelita agreed, standing up as well. "See you all tomorrow!"

They all said their goodbyes to Aelita and went their separate ways. As the cars disappeared one by one, she glanced at the sun setting in the distance. The last sunset of the summer was always beautiful in her mind. The sky was a bright orange hue, and the light glinted in a mixture of pink and orange off of her bracelet. She knew that when the sun would come back around tomorrow, things would be different, very different.

* * *

**A/N: ****_Just for clarification, in the final movie when Neville gives his big speech in front of Voldemort, there was a clip where, after Harry falls out of Hagrid's arms, Draco Malfoy runs forward and hands Harry his wand. The clip, unfortunately, had never made it into the final cut of the movie._**


	10. Chapter 10: Two Sides Same Goal

**_A/N: Here's Chapter 10! Thank you to those of you have reviewed, and a_****_s I kindly ask as always, please review!_**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Two Sides, Same Goal**

The sunlight gleamed off of the black hood of Aelita's Camaro as she pulled into the Kadic Academy parking lot. She pulled the top back over the car and got out. She laughed to herself at the ogling eyes of the 9th grade boys that were seated around a tree. She pulled her backpack out of the trunk and locked the car. Despite the fact traffic caused her to be a few minutes behind schedule, she was very chipper.

"Aelita!" Sissi called out to her as she headed to homeroom to get her class schedule. She stopped as Sissi jogged over.

"I already tried going to get my schedule," she explained. "But they said we'd have to wait until after the assembly."

"Where are the others?" Aelita asked.

"Already on their way to the factory," Sissi answered. "The assembly is going to start soon. If we're going to leave, we better do it now." They ran past the crowd of students heading into the auditorium. They rounded the corner around the cafeteria and ran face first into Jim Morales, their gym teacher.

"Stones! Delmas!" he bellowed loudly. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"I, uh, left something at Aelita's house last night, Jim," Sissi replied.

"Well you can wait until _after the assembly is over_ to go get it," Jim said. "You'll have plenty of time before lunch. Now turn around and go to the auditorium!"

"Rats!" Aelita mumbled under her breath as she walked into the auditorium and sat down next to Sissi.

"We can head over there afterwards," Sissi whispered to her. "There will be a long break between this and lunch. I'll send Ulrich a text saying that we'll be late to the party." She pulled out her phone.

* * *

"That's disappointing," Jeremie commented, responding to Ulrich's news. He stretched his arms a bit in his chair in the lab. "I guess we can manage without them."

"Of course we can!" Taelia added. She and William stood in the middle of the arena of Sector 5, waiting for Jeremie to virtualize the others.

"Alright then," Jeremie said. "You three ready?"

"Ready," Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich all said in unison.

"Transfer. Scanner. Virtualization!" came Jeremie's voice. "Now head to the hangar bay. It should be in the same place as last time."

"Got it," Ulrich said, Super-Sprinting ahead of the others.

Taelia had never seen Sector 5, or any of the other sectors besides the ice sector for that matter. She was curious about the kind of environment this would provide. She was a little disappointed when she saw the doors at the edge of the arena open up to what looked like a very large, extremely geometrically-shaped, blue maze. She was hoping for something a little more, well, more, especially from of the central sector of Lyoko. She was also getting a little tired of the running they had to do. Why Jeremie couldn't virtualize the vehicles was still unclear to her.

Ulrich then came to a stop just ahead of her, and she stopped running. There was a very large, navy blue thing in the middle of the room. It kind of looked like a track or rail of some sort. The others passed her as they ran towards the edge of the platform. She just followed at a walk, trying to figure out what was going on.

Hearing a noise, she looked up and saw a circular platform-like thing descending along the track from above. Figuring that was what took them to the hangar, she jogged to catch up to the others. They all boarded the "elevator" once it came to a stop in front of them. It wasn't very big, and Taelia felt that fitting Sissi and Aelita on the platform would have been a slight challenge. Soon, the elevator began to rise and went back in the direction it had come from.

The walls suddenly changed to a dark navy blue, similar to the color of the track the elevator followed. Looking up, Taelia saw the underside of the hangar and their two submarines.

* * *

Jeremie hadn't been kidding when he had said that the hangar had gotten bigger. It was large before, but now it was massive! It had been expanded to give enough room for the ships to move around, as well as two sets of supports. There was even a tower floating a short distance away from between the two _Skids_. Ulrich couldn't believe that Franz Hopper had designed a program to do just this! As the elevator's rise began to slow, he got a decent glimpse of the second _Skid_.

It was of the same design of the first one, with two "arms" sticking out of the side and the majority of the ship being vertical. The first noticeable difference between the two ships was the large metallic shell that appeared to cover the _Nav-Skids_. The second difference was just simply the size difference between the two. The second one with the shell was about fifty percent bigger than the first one. Ulrich guessed that if the _Nav-Skids_ on the second ship were still the same size as they were on the first, then the second ship has loads more to offer than the first ship.

When the elevator came to a stop, Ulrich heard William ask, "So which one are we taking? Papa Bear or Mama Bear?"

"Papa Bear," Jeremie answered, chuckling.

"Can we call it that?" Odd asked excitedly.

"There's a reason why we didn't let you name it the first time around, Odd," Yumi countered. "We're not naming it _Papa Bear_! What would we call the–?"

"_Baby Bears_!" Odd answered before she finished.

"Right," Taelia said sarcastically. "And what will the cockpit be called? _Goldilocks_?"

"Whatever floats your boat!" Odd replied, bounding away. "Or I guess in this case, sink it!"

"What _are_ we going to name it?" William asked, following Odd. "_Big Kahuna_?"

"That's even worse than _Melanie_!" Ulrich complained, laughing.

"_Skidbladnir_ is from old Norse mythology, right?" Taelia asked.

"That's what Aelita said," Jeremie replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I thought the name was familiar," she explained. "That was Aelita's favorite story when we were kids. Of the Norse legends, _my _personal favorite would be of the _Hringhorni_, the greatest of all ships."

"Well that's fitting with this second one," Ulrich said, stepping onto one of the large circles on the floor. "Jeremie, we're ready to be energized into the _Hringhorni_!" He gave Taelia a wink. She smiled.

"Okay," Ulrich heard Jeremie say. "Energize." The hangar turned into a bright yellowish white light for a second. As the light faded away, Ulrich was surprised to find that instead of standing in his own sub, he was standing next to William, Yumi, Odd, and Taelia in the cockpit of the _Hringhorni_. Since he was the only one to never be inside the cockpit of the _Skidbladnir_, he wasn't as shocked at the size of the cockpit as Odd and Yumi were.

"Was there always standing room in the _Skid_?" William asked.

"No," Yumi answered. "There was only room to sit at the control panel. Jeremie, do you mind explaining what the _Hring _has that the _Skid_ doesn't?"

"I'd be glad to," Jeremie said, sounding cheerful. "For starters, that big metallic shell is not just for show. It provides additional protection to the ship in the circumstance that the shields are overloaded by something, like the Kolossus for example. The shell will open up to allow the _Nav-Hrings_ to disembark. It will also open up to allow the highly advanced weapon-system to fire. Multiple types torpedoes can be launched all at once. One type of torpedoes can send out an electric net when close to an enemy and ensuring a hit, and another type is extremely large and then breaks up into smaller torpedoes upon impact.

"The _Nav-Hrings_ cannot only operate in the Network, but also on land. They can transform from submarines into vehicles with wheels or wings. The _Hringhorni_ can do the same but only as like a flying spaceship thing and can't land anywhere. Their shields are higher as well as the energy supply. The weapons are not as advanced as the _Hring_'s are, but they pack a bigger punch and cost less energy. To get to the _Nav-Hrings_ from the cockpit, you open the door that's to your left. It leads to a ladder or platform, depending on the orientation of the sub. The only drawback is that you can't go in there when the shell is open. Otherwise, it's permanent virtualization.

"The teleportation program has also been upgraded. Its range has been increased to include the entire globe. But that only means that you have an unlimited range as to how far you can go. I'm still working on trying to get the initial teleportation up to that range. Within the teleportation program though, I can transfer your return to the digital world into the _Skid_ and vice versa, just as long both ships are docked at a tower, which is why there is a tower an equal distance from both ships. Behind you should be a couple of large chairs. Sitting in those chairs would also transfer you to the _Skid_ directly."

"Wow!" Odd exclaimed in excitement. "That's some upgrade!"

"What are we waiting for then?" Taelia asked, sitting down in the pilot's seat by the controls. "Let's get a move on!" The others stood around her as she opened the interfaces.

"Alright," Jeremie said. "Dropping Supports 2." The set of supports surrounding the _Hringhorni_ dropped away.

"We have ignition powering right," Taelia reported, gripping the throttle. The _Hringhorni_'s side thrusts kicked on and forced the ship slowly to the right until it was lined up perfectly with the opening to the hangar. "Powering vertical. Liftoff." The _Hring_ began to rise in the air as its rockets pushed it up, out of the hangar, and into the celestial dome.

"All indicators are go," Jeremie reported. "Clear to leave Sector 5. Tunnel open south of your position."

"Roger," Taelia replied. The ship glided around the core-zone and through the indicated open tunnel. Ulrich loved how fast the ship could go. Once it cleared the tunnel and was above the Digital Sea, Taelia stopped it.

"Preparing to dive," she said, pressing the necessary keys and buttons. "Shields: activated. Sonar: activated. Stabilizers: online and checked out. Primary access: clear. Laser generators: online. Connection to _Skidbladnir_: established. Shell: sealed. Ready to dive, you four?"

"Ready when you are princess!" Odd answered cheerfully, looking at the Digital Sea. Taelia scowled and slammed her fist into his stomach without taking her eyes off of the controls. Odd fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"That nickname will NOT work for me," Taelia stated. "You have been warned."

"Duly noted," William said, backing away from her slightly as the _Hring_ plummeted towards the Digital Sea.

"I'm sending you the coordinates of the Ice Sector replica contained inside the Siberian research facility supercomputer," Jeremie told Taelia, typing on the computer. "You should be able to get there pretty quickly."

* * *

"I'm getting tired of all this waiting around," Ron said. "Why can't we just go get George now?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all standing in the back of the Kadic Academy auditorium, out of sight from the other students. Ginny was standing up by the stage, as per the plan.

"Because, Ron," Hermione explained. "We need to know more about who we're up against. If you go now, you'll be going in blind as a bat!"

When Ron and Ginny had joined Harry and Hermione on the campus, Harry immediately told them his idea. He thought that the only way for them to definitely get enough information about Franz Hopper without bringing unwanted attention to themselves was to become a student at Kadic. The only way to justify their presence, more to the Ministry than to the school, was to say that Hogwarts was participating in a foreign exchange program with Kadic Academy. Of course, they quickly had to talk to Professor McGonagall about doing such a thing. After explaining the situation to her, she agreed to the idea, but only one person out of the four of them could go. She ended up drawing names out of a hat, and Ginny's name was picked. She then only allowed Ginny to go to Kadic and made the other three promise to either allow Ginny to go or to not have anyone go. She also arranged for Ollivander to arrive at Hogwarts the morning of September 2nd, in order for the incoming student to receive a wand. Robes and other supplies were to be supplied to the student upon arrival on Platform 9 ¾.

With Professor McGonagall satisfied, they went to the principal of Kadic Academy. They discussed with him about the foreign exchange program. He at first didn't want to partake in it, but Hermione helped him "remember" the agreement he had made with them earlier that summer. They did not tell him about Hogwarts being a magical school. In order for one of the Kadic students to have a chance at Hogwarts, they would have to have magic somewhere in their bloodline. Hermione came up with a solution: when the principal wasn't looking, she cast a spell on the bowl that contained the sheets of paper of all the students' names. The spell would cause the principal to only pick a name who had magical blood, even if that person didn't know it.

Of course, since Ginny had been picked to stay at Kadic, Hermione helped her study all night on how to use cell phones, computers, and pencil sharpeners. Strangely enough, using pencil sharpeners was the hardest part for Ginny. She couldn't understand it. But, lo and behold, she finally learned what she needed to know, including the translating spell Hermione had learned over the summer. She had also given Ginny one of the fake Galleons from three years ago so she could stay in touch with them. Hermione really wished that she was staying at Kadic instead of Ginny, but Professor McGonagall had made her choice and wasn't going back on it.

"But Hermione," Harry argued. "I can kind of see Ron's perspective in all this. Don't get me wrong, I still think staying here is a good idea. Even _with_ George, I think knowing as much as we can about a possible new enemy will turn out to be a wise decision. But I think the three of us need to be just as proactive as Ginny is."

"Yeah," Ron said, picking up on Harry's point. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

Harry's eyes had drifted onto a girl with short, pink hair who had just entered the auditorium. Ron and Hermione's voices somewhat faded out for a moment, and Harry was solely focused on the girl. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She glanced in his direction as she sat down but didn't register his presence. She looked irritated about something, but the mere sight of her face made Harry's heart pump a little faster. The little dragon inside of him that had once growled towards Ginny now growled its approval at this girl.

"Pull yourself together, Harry," he told himself silently. "You've already got a girl. You've got Ginny." But he still couldn't pull his eyes away from her.

"Harry? Harry!" Hermione said, slapping his arm and capturing his attention once again. "Did you hear me?"

"Uh," Harry stuttered and shook his head. The girl had turned around again and this time registered his presence. They stared at each other for a bit before Harry turned to Hermione.

"I said that you should follow Ron to Siberia," she repeated herself. Harry looked to where Ron had once stood, slightly alarmed. Sure enough, Ron was already gone. "He's going to need a coat considering he just Disapparated." She pulled out two winter coats out of her small bag.

"Right," Harry said quickly, taking the coats and putting one on. "Are you coming?"

"No," Hermione answered. "I don't think that it's a good idea to leave Ginny by herself in an unknown environment. Good luck!"

"Thanks," he said and Disapparated, making a small _crack_ as he left.

* * *

Aelita sat facing the empty stage, scowling. Suddenly from behind her, she heard a small _crack_. She turned around and stared at the back of the room. Two figures were standing against the wall. It was hard to tell with the lighting exactly what their features were. One figure eventually turned to the other in conversation, and Aelita faced the front again.

"What is it?" Sissi asked.

"I thought I heard something," she said, shrugging. Then she heard it again. Just a small _crack_ coming from behind her. She turned around again and looked at now one figure standing against the wall. She couldn't tell if the second figure had left the room or not. "I think I'm just paranoid, that's all," she added, more to herself than to Sissi.

"May I have your attention, please?" Mr. Delmas said, signaling for the assembly to begin and for the voices to quiet down. Aelita faced front and rested her chin on her hand. "Welcome to a new school year, everyone!"

* * *

Cold wind and snow hit Harry's face. He held up his hand against the wind and squinted his eyes so he could see better. Fifteen feet away from him, he saw Ron crouching by a snow bank and staring at the door to the research facility.

"Ron!" Harry called over the wind. Ron turned and saw the coat Harry was carrying. He quickly grabbed for it.

"Remind me to give Hermione a big kiss for this when we get back," Ron told Harry, putting the coat on.

"You're on your own on that one," Harry replied back. "Anything change with that door over there?"

"No. Apart from the lights being on, all seems quiet."

"Well, here's an idea: How about we go inside? I doubt George is in one of these snow banks." Ron nodded, and together, wands at the ready, they walked over to the door into the facility.

When they reached the door, Ron said, "There isn't a handle to open it. How're we going to get in?" Harry's eyes just happened to land on what looked like a button that controlled the door.

"Like this," he told Ron as he pushed the button. The door hissed and slid open, allowing them inside. Giving the signal, both of them jumped into the hallway, wands raised.

"This way's clear," Harry said, seeing the end of the hallway. Looking at the ground, he saw the missing handle to the door.

"So is this way," Ron observed. With another hiss, the door closed itself, blocking out the freezing wind. Ron pulled out a piece of paper with a picture of the layout of the facility.

"According to this," he said. "We are here." He pointed on the map. "The room where George may have made the video message is here." He pointed somewhere else on the map. "We have quite a distance to travel to get to him."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Harry asked. "Let's get a move on! But be careful! Who knows what we might find." They began walking down the hallway. Every now and then, they'd have to step around some chunks of the ceiling that had fallen down. The placement of the chunks was peculiar considering where some similar-sized holes in the ceiling were a good ten feet horizontally away.

* * *

The _Hringhorni_ shot out of the Digital Sea and rose above the ground of the Ice Sector replica. It flew towards the nearest tower at the edge of the sector.

"Dock the _Hring _there," Jeremie told Taelia. "That way we can see anything coming from a mile away."

"Like the Kolossus?" Yumi asked.

"Exactly," Jeremie said. "Although I don't think we'll have to worry about that for awhile. X.A.N.A. can't have possibly gotten enough power to recreate the Kolossus again. It could be that there was only one, and he just transported it from place to place, giving it energy from all of his replicas. If that's the case, then that means Ulrich destroyed the only one X.A.N.A. had. It will probably be a long time before X.A.N.A. can recreate it."

"I sure hope you're right, Einstein," Ulrich said warily.

"Docking," Taelia reported when the ship reached the tower. A pink beam shot out at the tower and soon began circling around the tower and the _Hring_.

"I'm activating the tower," Jeremie said, as the tower's flame turned dark green. "Ulrich, William, Odd. How'd you like to go to Siberia?"

"Sounds good to me," William answered.

"Alright then," Jeremie responded. "Teleportation."

A second later, William, Odd, and Ulrich appeared right by the door to the research facility. They looked at each other in their Lyoko forms.

"Jeremie," William said. "When you get the next opportunity, can you upgrade our forms? If anything, at least make us _look_ like we're supposed to be in high school. We still look like kids."

"Yeah, I'll work on it," Jeremie replied.

They walked towards the door and pressed the button to open it, not even noticing the missing door handle. They walked inside and watched the door close behind them with a hiss.

"Odd, do you remember which room the supercomputer was located?" Jeremie asked. "It's okay if you don't."

"Vaguely," Odd answered. "All I remember of this place is being attacked by robots."

"That's fine. Just follow the hallway in front of you," Jeremie explained. "It should end at the room where you and Aelita had found all of those robots. Hopefully, they're not there anymore. But be careful, there is an activated tower on the replica. Until we know what the activated tower is for, I'm not going to have Taelia leave the _Hring_ to go deactivate it."

"Okay then. But those robots better not be active," William said, already jogging down the corridor. The other two followed him.

* * *

"What do you think these suits are for?" Ron asked Harry, staring at his reflection in one of them.

"I'm not sure if I'd call them suits," Harry said, standing farther away. "See how some of them look like they had been moving? I'd say these were robots. Robots with a bad purpose."

"What should we do with them?"

"Let them be for now. They appear to be off and aren't giving us any trouble. When we get George, we'll discuss it then. In the meantime, we should keep going. Through this door, right?"

* * *

"Well, well, well," X.A.N.A. said with his eyes closed. His prisoner was conscious and sat on the ground next to the supercomputer. "Your name is George. Interesting name. Your friends are here to 'rescue' you. They act as if that it will be easy." He chuckled and looked at George. "I'm going to show them how wrong they –" He stopped talking suddenly. He scowled. "I thought I had made myself clear with Aelita," he muttered. He paused, lost in thought, and then he smiled. "Maybe I can use this to my advantage." He walked over to George and grabbed the collar of his suit.

"I hope you like the jungle," he whispered into George's ear.

George's eyes widened as sparks started to appear around him and X.A.N.A. He yelled as loud as he could as the two of them began to disappear into the sparks.

* * *

"AAUUGGHH!" echoed George's voice throughout the halls. Harry and Ron glanced at each other only for a second before running at a break-neck pace towards the sound. They threw their coats to the side as they only slowed them down.

William, Odd, and Ulrich heard the yell as well. Without saying a word, without sharing a glance, they took off. They ran across the gigantic room where all the robots stood at attention, but they paid neither them nor the two coats on the ground off to the side any notice.

Harry got to the room first and saw electric sparks floating next to the supercomputer. They only floated for a second before they dove into the supercomputer.

* * *

On the replica, a large red and white ball appeared out of the sky and began to fall towards the Digital Sea.

"Jeremie," Yumi began, still inside the cockpit.

"Stop it," Jeremie told her. "It's X.A.N.A.! He's fleeing the replica!"

"But how do I do that?" Yumi asked. Taelia turned and pointed to the door.

"Get to a _Nav-Hring_!" she said. "I'll open the shell as soon as you're in one. Go, go, go!" Yumi ran to the door, flung it open, and began climbing down the ladder. "Jeremie, if you want me to help her, you're going to have to either transfer the boys to the _Skid_ on Lyoko or bring them back here!"

"I know," Jeremie yelled, typing furiously. "I'm already working on it! But unfortunately, it's going to take some time. I'll only be able to do the transfer one at a time!"

"Then get cracking!" Taelia yelled back.

"_Nav-Hring_ to cockpit," came Yumi's voice over the radio. "I'm ready to launch."

"Okay. Opening shell," Taelia reported. The shell began to open, sliding in layers upon itself. "_Nav-Hring_ away!" One of the _Nav-Hrings_ fell towards the ground. A second before it crashed, however, airplane-like wings shot out of the sides. It flew up and away from the _Hring_ towards the red and white ball that was X.A.N.A.

"Taelia, you've got some company coming," Yumi reported back to Taelia. "Tarantulas by the looks of it. Want me to take care of them?"

"No! I'll handle them! You focus on X.A.N.A.," Taelia replied, punching keys and buttons as fast as Jeremie's typing. "Closing shell. Disembarking." She appeared directly underneath the ship as the metal shell closed back up. She struck her necklace, activating her wings. She flew in the air towards the incoming Tarantula, Energy Fields in hand.

After a few minutes of flying, Yumi was just about to reach X.A.N.A. when a Megatank from the ground below shot a beam directly at her. It hit her _Navi-Hring_, causing it to spiral out of control towards the ground. By the time she had gained control again, X.A.N.A. had already jumped into the Digital Sea. Knowing that chasing him through the Network by herself would be a bad idea, she regretfully spun back around to the ground.

The Megatank began charging up again, and Yumi took that opportunity to fire a torpedo, or a rocket in this case, at said Megatank. The rocket exploded upon impact, wiping out the Megatank before it even had a chance to fire again. Yumi turned towards the _Hring_ to help Taelia with the Tarantulas.

* * *

"You thought you could just walk in here and take George away, didn't you?" a voice announced from the supercomputer. The voice was loud enough for even William, Ulrich, and Odd to hear it, and they hadn't gotten there yet. "Well, you couldn't have been more wrong! Boys, you know what to do!"

William was the first person to reach the hallway that lead into the room with the supercomputer. He skidded to a halt as he saw two men standing in the doorway, listening to the voice. Just as Ulrich and Odd reached him, a trail of lightning came out of the supercomputer.

The trail of lightning flew across the floor past Harry and Ron and into the hallway. Harry's eyes followed it and then fell onto three very strangely dressed individuals that were staring back at them. Harry didn't move. His wand was at his side at the moment and didn't want to raise it in case the three individuals would attack. Thankfully, Ron did the same.

No one said a word. They just glared at each other, only twenty feet of empty space separating them.

Finally, Harry broke the silence by saying three words, all without breaking his glare, "Where is he?"

Odd and Ulrich couldn't understand a word that the black-haired man just said. They knew it was English but didn't know what he meant. They just continued to glare back at him.

William however, understood it perfectly and responded, "As if you don't already know."

Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't break his glare at the one man with black, messy hair who spoke. "What do you want with him?" Harry asked, assuming that these three were the "boys" that voice had mentioned.

"Information," William answered, assuming these two men were X.A.N.A.'s specters, the "boys" whom X.A.N.A. referred to. "He can tell us more about you."

"For Franz Hopper?" Harry asked, going out on a limb with his question.

William narrowed his eyes at the X.A.N.A.-minion. "Yes," he said slowly.

"I knew it!" Harry thought to himself, struggling to keep a straight face at the revelation. "Well that's too bad then," he said to the man. "Because George is going with us!" He raised his wand and aimed.

Odd didn't need a translation. He didn't question the reason why X.A.N.A. would have a stick as a weapon but quickly aimed and shot three laser arrows at the black-haired man. Said man swiped his stick through the air and somehow managed to block the laser arrows.

Ulrich charged at the red-haired man, swords drawn. But the red-haired man made some quick movement with his stick, and the swords flew out of Ulrich's hands and behind the three of them. The red-haired man smiled and moved his stick again. Out of nowhere, Odd quickly jumped in front of Ulrich and held up his shield at the beam that shot out of the stick.

While Ron dueled against the cat and samurai, Harry focused on the third individual, the one who had spoken to him. At first, Harry thought it would just be a simple _Stupefy_, and the fight would be over. But when Harry raised his wand again, the man turned into black smoke and flew across the floor.

"Death Eater!" Harry immediately thought, his eyes unable to follow the fast smoke. The boy rematerialized right behind Harry and gave him a swift kick in the back. Falling to the ground, Harry turned around and shot a Stunner at the Death Eater. From out of nowhere, the Death Eater pulled out a gigantic sword and blocked the spell.

William grinned. X.A.N.A. couldn't beat him _that_ easily. The man quickly got up and sent a red beam at him, but William dodged it. He formed a smoky black ball in his hands and sent it towards the man. The man blocked it like he had the laser arrows and shot a silver-colored beam over William's shoulder. It was too late when William realized the man had been aiming at Odd, who had been shielding himself and Ulrich from the other man's attacks. The beam hit Odd in the back, and chains suddenly wrapped themselves around Odd, causing him to fall to the floor with a yelp.

Ron knew he'd have to thank Hermione for teaching that spell to Harry. With that cat's shield gone, he could easily take care of the samurai. But the samurai was already on top of him, grabbing Ron's wand arm and knocking his wand out of his hand. Ron was clearly losing at the new hand-to-hand combat that had begun. This guy clearly knew his martial arts skills where Ron did not.

Distracted by the chains that had immobilized Odd, William soon found his Zweihander flying through the air and across the room. He quickly Super-Smoked his way around the man again. But the man knew better this time for another beam was shot at William and hit him, causing him to fly into the nearby wall. As he rematerialized, he quickly sent a smoky ball at the man. The man didn't react in time, and the smoke encircled him in the same way the chains had encircled Odd. But instead of falling to the ground, the smoke kept the man levitating parallel to the ground. He picked up his Zweihander and walked towards the man, eager to end this fight.

"You have lost," the Death Eater said to Harry, looking down at him and smiling. Harry struggled against his smoky bonds but to no avail. He began to panic as the Death Eater lifted that giant sword over his head. But then, the panic disappeared in an instant with a sudden flash of golden light in front of his face.

The Elder Wand floated above Harry's chest, pointing directly at the Death Eater. The Death Eater paused for a moment, his smile fading. But he shook his head and swung the sword downwards.

The blade never touched Harry. The Elder Wand shot out the ever-familiar red and golden wave at the Death Eater. It blasted him and caused him, the cat, and the samurai to vanish in thin air. The smoke holding Harry up also disappeared, and he fell to the ground with a thud, blacking out.

* * *

Yumi just flew over an iceberg and saw the _Hring_ about a mile away. Suddenly, the tower exploded, creating a blast about ten times bigger than the _Hring_. Blue dust and balls of fire engulfed the _Hringhorni_ as well as Taelia and the Tarantulas below. The shockwave from the explosion caused Yumi's _Nav-Hring_ to fly backwards over the iceberg she just passed. She fell towards the ground as she began pressing buttons and keys. Soon, wheels appeared underneath her _Nav-Hring_ and cushioned her hard land against the cold ground. She skidded to a halt and watched as the cloud of dust, now no longer containing fire, flew over her and obscured her view.

In the lab, Jeremie was just about to finish transferring Odd, the first person to transfer, when the explosion happened. He stopped typing, too stunned from what he was seeing to move. Suddenly, an alert appeared on the left monitor. A split-second later, he heard a _BANG_ and crash down in the scanner room. Looking at his monitors, he saw that Taelia, William, Ulrich, and Odd had all been devirtualized. Of the three scanners, however, only two of them were responding. The third would not charge up for materialization. He got out of his chair and ran to the ladder that led down to the scanner room to find out why.

When he got in there, he saw what he had feared. Two of the scanners were closed, and from the noise they were making, charging up to materialize someone. But the third scanner was completely destroyed. Wires were everywhere; parts of the exterior of the scanner lay scattered throughout the room. Smoke was hissing out of where it once stood. Looking across from it, Jeremie gasped. There was William, slumped unconscious against the wall and covered in bigger pieces of the scanner. Jeremie ran over to him just as the other two scanners opened. Ulrich and Taelia fell out of them and onto the floor, still conscious but extremely light-headed. One of the scanners closed again, charging up. A second later, Odd nearly fell on top of Ulrich.

"What happened?" Taelia asked groggily. Jeremie didn't answer. He was too busy trying to rouse William.

"William. William. WILLIAM!" he yelled, shaking him. He checked William's pulse. It was there but weak. Picking William up, he walked over to the elevator and opened the door. He surely hoped Aelita and Sissi would get there soon.

* * *

"And so please give a warm, Kadic welcome to Ms. Ginny Weasley," Mr. Delmas was saying. The student body applauded. This foreign exchange program was out of the blue. Sissi didn't know anything about it, but it did explain why no one had received their class schedules yet. No one knew who was going to represent Kadic for one semester in England.

"Because Ms. Weasley had been chosen at random to represent her school," Mr. Delmas continued. "It is only fair that we randomly select one of our students to represent Kadic Academy." He pulls out a fishbowl filled with tiny strips of paper. "In here are names of all of the students that go to our fine school. All I have to do is pick one at random." He then reached into the bowl, fished around a bit in the paper, and pulled one out.

A drumroll could be heard offstage, supposedly building suspense. "And the student to go to England for the semester will be," Mr. Delmas said, reading the slip. "Aelita Stones!"


	11. Chapter 11: Parting of the Ways

_**A/N: As always please review!**_

* * *

**Chapter 11: Parting of the Ways**

Aelita's world spun and turned inside out. Her entire body was numb. Her senses were dulled. She couldn't hear, couldn't see, and couldn't feel anything. The world was just a dull blend of colors and shapes that moved around her. Her heartbeat was irregular. She couldn't breathe. She slid down her chair and onto the floor. Sissi scrambled to help her to her feet. Her face was pale.

"No," she thought faintly as she walked towards the stage. "Not me. Not now. Not me. Not now." She kept repeating the mantra all the way onto the stage. She stood next to the Ginny girl, barely aware of her surroundings. X.A.N.A. will attack her as soon as she leaves the country; there was no doubt in Aelita's mind about it. Fear, anger, pain, confusion, and distress all clumped themselves together and filled Aelita's entire being.

"Congratulations, Miss Stones!" Mr. Delmas said loudly, beaming. "Please stay afterwards so we can discuss the details. Everyone else, please report to your homerooms after lunch and then to your classes from there. Until then, the time is yours! Let's make this year better than last!" He stepped away from his podium and turned to Aelita and Ginny. "Aelita, if you'd come with me to my office. Ginny, Jim Morales will show you to your room." The girls followed the respective adults.

Sissi tried to follow her father and Aelita, but the crowd of students forced her to go in the opposite direction. As soon as the crowd dissipated enough, she started to run to her father's office the long way around. Her phone beeped, and she pulled it out of her pocket, reading the text message. She skidded to a halt, turned around, and began to run towards the sewers.

* * *

"_Nav-Hring_ to base lab: come in please," Yumi called on the radio, still unable to see through the cloud of dust. "Jeremie, are you there? Taelia? Someone answer me! What's going on? Hello? Anybody?" There was silence. Yumi just sat still in her 'car' while the cloud of blue dust slowly began to settle. After five minutes, Yumi was finally able to make out the ground of the Ice Floe two feet away from her. As she watched, she began to see more and more in front of her as the dust cleared.

"Base lab to _Nav-Hring_," came Jeremie's voice. "You okay, Yumi?"

"Jeremie!" Yumi said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Where were you?"

"Tending to the others," he answered. He was breathing heavily. His voice was shaky and soft, almost too soft for Yumi to here. "William is out cold, and Taelia, Odd, and Ulrich are too dizzy and light-headed to walk on their own. I had to send a text to Aelita and Sissi as well. Things aren't good."

"On your end or mine?" Yumi asked, watching the last of the dust settle on the ground.

"Both," Jeremie replied.

Yumi said nothing. She drove her _Nav-Hring_ forward so she could see past the iceberg next to her. What she saw caused her to slam on the brakes, the wheels skidding on the icy ground.

The only thing that was still intact was the _Hringhorni_. It still floated majestically in the air as if nothing had happened. The tower, on the other hand, was gone, not even a cord remained. The explosion had obliterated the ground within a half-mile radius of the tower. At the edge of the radius, cracks and fragments appeared on the sector floor. Every thirty seconds or so, a shard of the ground would fall into the Digital Sea.

"Oh my," Yumi said, taking off from the ground and shifting into plane-mode. "I'm going back to the _Hring_, Jeremie. Can you open up the shell so I can go in?"

"Yeah, sure," Jeremie replied, evidently distracted. The shell on the _Hring_ slowly opened up, and Yumi glided back into her original position. The wings retracted as the _Nav-Hring_ reattached itself to the stem of the _Hringhorni_. Yumi pulled open the hatch behind her and climbed the ladder up into the cockpit.

Shutting the cockpit door behind her, she saw red lights and heard loud beeping coming from the controls. Sitting in the pilot's seat, she quickly shut the shell tightly and studied what the interfaces were saying to her.

"Jeremie," she said. "I don't think diving back into the Network is a good idea right now. The shields are completely depleted. The only thing that kept the ship together was the shell. If the _Hringhorni_ is to head home, then she's going to need an escort."

"Okay," Jeremie replied. "Sissi sent me a text saying she's on the way. Aelita got caught up after the assembly. I'll send whoever gets here first with the _Skid_ so she can escort you back to Lyoko. Let's just hope X.A.N.A. is too tuckered out from that blast to do anything about either ship."

* * *

"Harry! Harry!" Ron shouted, shaking Harry. "Are you alright, mate?"

Harry was slightly dizzy from when his head had hit the ground after the smoky chains disintegrated. He looked around the room and found that he and Ron were in a bathroom.

"Where are we?" Harry asked, slowly pulling himself to his feet and leaning against the wall.

"In a men's bathroom at Kadic Academy," Ron replied. "Right after the Elder Wand blasted the Death Eater to kingdom come, the cat and the samurai disappeared. When you fell to the ground and hit your head, the Elder Wand shined a bright, golden light. When the light disappeared, we were in here. You started coming 'round five minutes later."

"I thought we couldn't Disapparate out of there," Harry muttered, walking towards the door.

"I don't think we did," Ron said, slowly following him. "It didn't feel like we did. The facility faded out, and this bathroom faded in."

"It doesn't really matter. Anyway, Hermione was right about waiting to know what we were up against. Something tells me that those three were just the tip of the iceberg, and those robots are part of it. Since a Death Eater is involved and that he works with Franz Hopper, we need to learn as much as we can about Franz Hopper before we go back there."

"With Hermione."

"No doubt."

* * *

"But, sir, I don't want to go to England!" Aelita argued with the principal, stamping her foot on the ground. "What about my job, the home that I now live in, the science club –?"

Mr. Delmas held up his hand in frustration, silencing Aelita. "It won't be terribly long, now," he explained. "It will only be for this semester. At the end of this semester, you _will_ have the choice of either coming home or extending your stay to the end of the year, if you so choose. No matter what you choose, however, you will be allowed to come home for the holidays. Think of it as a unique opportunity to learn about another society, to learn things from another's perspective. As far as your extracurricular activities are concerned, I bet you'd be able to find activities over there that will satisfy your interests. As far as your job, I'd be happy to write a letter to your employer explaining the situation. You shouldn't have to worry about that."

Aelita huffed and scowled at the floor. Delmas wasn't giving up leaving her with no choice. X.A.N.A. will have to get over it. It's not like she's the only one who could possibly open the safe in the Hermitage. She _was_ intrigued by the opportunity she was about to embark on, if not just a little.

"Fine," Aelita said, looking up. "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow night at 8:00," Mr. Delmas said, handing her a manila envelope. "Inside that envelope, you will find the list of what you'll need to bring, your plane ticket, you train ticket, and your hotel information. Your train leaves King's Cross Station at exactly 11:00 in the morning on the first of September, and your hotel room has been paid for, including any taxis or tube trains you may use to get from place to place."

"Thank you, Mr. Delmas," Aelita said, turning to leave.

"Aelita," he said. She looked back before she opened the door. "Have fun up there."

"I'll try," Aelita said, smiling. She opened the door and walked out of his office. She walked out to her car, envelope in hand, and shielded her eyes from the bright sun.

Getting in, she called Jeremie on her cell phone. He answered, and she immediately said, "Don't ask me why I'm late. I'm already in my car. Again, don't ask why."

"Good," Jeremie replied. "Could you bring down your first-aid kit when you get here?"

"Uh, sure," Aelita answered, startled by the question. "On my way."

* * *

"Ouch," William grunted as Aelita put another pillow under his back. When she got to the factory, the others were already waiting for her by the elevator. They loaded William into Aelita's car, and she drove him to the Hermitage. Once there, she and Yumi, who had ridden with them, helped William into the house and onto the living room sofa. Yumi was in the kitchen preparing a bag of ice for William's head.

"Sorry," Aelita said. "But your back still needs some support." Someone knocked on the front door. "It's open," she called out, checking her watch. It was only 9:45 in the morning. Good. That meant they had three more hours to get back to school, well not Aelita anyway. She began preparing the bandage for William's head.

Jeremie walked in, guiding Taelia, Odd, and Ulrich to some of the other chairs in the room. It was obvious those three were still light-headed.

"Aelita," Sissi asked, walking into view. "Where are the glasses?"

"Top right cabinet," Aelita responded, not looking up from what she was doing. "But there are plastic cups in the cabinet directly underneath it. Please use those if you're going to bring them in here."

A minute later, Yumi came in with ice for William, and Sissi brought out three plastic cups of water for the three seated in the chairs. As soon as Aelita had wrapped enough bandages around William's head, Yumi placed the bag of ice on William's forehead. She pulled his hand up to the bag.

"You're going to need to hold the ice there for twenty minutes," Yumi told him. He grunted in response. "Do you have aspirin, Aelita?"

"I already got him some. Don't worry about it," Aelita replied, sitting on the ground by the coffee table. "So, can someone explain to me what happened?" She looked at Ulrich.

"For starters," he said. "Let me just say that William will have a better understanding than Odd or myself. X.A.N.A.'s specters were talking in English so only _he_ would know what they said."

"Why would they have been speaking in English?" Aelita inquired, looking at William.

"Because George is X.A.N.A.'s prisoner," William grumbled, his eyes closed. "The specters would have been programmed to speak in a language that George could understand. You know how much of a talker X.A.N.A. was. He probably has been taunting George or talking his ear off." Aelita wasn't convinced of William's logic but figured arguing with someone who has a possible concussion is not good manners.

"So, what did they say?" she asked. William explained the conversation he had with the first specter. Ulrich and Odd then proceeded to tell Aelita about the fight and about the wall of energy that sent the three of them back to the factory. Yumi and Taelia explained how they had seen X.A.N.A. leaving the replica in a hurry, how Yumi had left the _Hringhorni_, which Aelita really liked the name, and how the tower exploded and destroyed everything minus the _Hringhorni_ within a half-mile radius. Jeremie told her about the destroyed scanner, assumedly the scanner that William had been flung out of.

Aelita absorbed the information, very concerned. The others seemed convinced that it was all X.A.N.A.'s doing. Aelita wasn't sure though. Some of the things that they said just didn't add up to their conclusion. Why would X.A.N.A. destroy part of his replica? Wouldn't that make the replica as a whole much weaker? Or was it an attempt to destroy the _Hringhorni_? And if X.A.N.A. _were_ able to make that wall of energy William described, why wouldn't he have used it on her when she fought him just upstairs? But who else could have possibly made that wall? Humans can't do that kind of stuff. She couldn't tell if her questions were valid or just her still being apprehensive over everything with the pressure of this upcoming foreign exchange ordeal.

"Just one thing," she said when they finished. "Odd, how did you know when to shoot your laser arrows?"

Odd's face grew somber and said, "I don't need a translation to recognize when someone is about to attack me." Taelia opened her mouth to say something, but Jeremie gave her a look that made her close it again.

A year ago, he had been out late at night walking Kiwi, his pet dog, when a man approached him. The man said nothing when he reached Odd but had made a quick movement with his hand reaching into his coat. Odd thought the man had been reaching for gloves since it was cold out, but Kiwi thought different. Kiwi jumped into the air and bit the man's other arm. The man yelled, pulled out the knife that was inside his coat, and threw Kiwi across the road. That gave Odd enough time to tackle the man and wrestle the knife away from him. While he was wrestling the man, Kiwi ran back to help Odd and was hit by a truck. Odd had managed to pin the man to the ground while the police arrived but couldn't do anything for Kiwi. By the time the police arrived, it was too late for Kiwi. Odd had never really been the same for a few months after that. Only now had he started to become more like his old self.

"So did we miss anything important at the assembly?" Yumi asked, changing the subject for Odd's sake. Sissi and Aelita looked at each other, silently agreeing that it was Aelita's news to tell.

"Very," Aelita replied after a second or two, standing up. "Ms. Hertz _is_ leaving Kadic Academy and wishes us the best of luck this year. There is also a new girl at Kadic. Her name is," looking to Sissi for help, "Ginny Weasel, is that right?"

"Ginny Weasl_ey_," Sissi corrected Aelita.

"That's right," Aelita said, nodding before continuing. "She is here from England because her school and Kadic Academy are participating in a foreign exchange program this semester. Possibly for the whole school year. She was selected at random as well as the student representing Kadic Academy." She was staring at the floor when she paused. She couldn't bring herself to look at them when she said it.

"I bet you it was Herb," Jeremie said. "He'd want to do that sort of thing."

"But that would mean he'd be away from his beloved Sissi," Ulrich teased.

"Yes, because then the 'big jerk Ulrich' could take his place," she responded, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "What a tragedy." Her voice then became serious. "But the name chosen wasn't from a list of names of who _wanted_ to go. It was from the entire Kadic Academy student body."

"Well," Odd said, looking at her. "Who was picked?"

"Me," Aelita said quietly, still looking at the ground. Taelia dropped her cup of water, which luckily had barely any water left in it. Jeremie's mouth fell open. Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich stared at her in shock, looking for any sign of a joke in her demeanor. William even opened his eyes to look at her.

"The name that was selected to go to England was my name," Aelita repeated. "There's nothing I can do to change it. I did my absolute best to convince Delmas to change his mind, but he didn't budge an inch. I'm still coming to terms with it. At this point, I figured that my presence or absence isn't changing our situation with this safe very much." She pointed her thumb at the bookcase behind her. "Plus, Taelia can deactivate towers, which might come in handy once I leave the country. I know X.A.N.A. will come after me about it, but I'll just tell him that he needs to get over himself."

"Yeah, because that'll work out _so_ well for you," Odd said, not smiling.

"As long as I'm in a public place when he confronts me," Aelita explained. "He can't do anything besides make threats. As of right now, I don't think he can possess people yet; he would have done so to George already. And if things get really bad, I know that you guys will be a phone call away." Despite what she was saying, she really didn't believe it. She just didn't want the others to lose hope in the fight.

"When do you leave?" Yumi asked quietly.

"Tomorrow night at 8:00," she answered. "I'll spend the night in a hotel in London and then ride a train to the school at 11:00 the next morning."

"Then let's make the most of today then," Taelia said, standing up. She quickly appeared to be dazed and would have fallen over if Aelita hadn't jumped up to catch her. Sissi quickly walked into the kitchen to fetch another cup of water.

"I agree," she said to her sister. "But how about after you are able to stand up without getting dizzy?" Taelia nodded slowly in agreement.

"When do we have to be back at Kadic?" Ulrich asked, checking his watch. It was now 10:30.

"After lunch is over," Sissi answered, walking in with Taelia's new cup of water. "So about two hours from now."

"Naptime," William said, closing his eyes again. "Wake me when it's time to leave. I'm in no mood to eat anything right now." The three seated in chairs muttered their agreement, and soon Ulrich, Odd, Taelia, and William were sound asleep. Yumi, Sissi, Jeremie, and Aelita went into the kitchen.

"What's the name of the school you'll be going to?" Jeremie asked quietly.

"Hogwarts School W&W," Aelita replied. "I've never heard of it. You?" He shook his head.

"Everything will be just fine, Aelita," Yumi said. "Like you said, we're capable enough to handle X.A.N.A. on our own. I think you deserve a break from him, even after all these years since we last dealt with him." Aelita smiled but, in the pit of her stomach, couldn't help feel that her confrontations with X.A.N.A. won't end once she's in another country.

* * *

"So who was picked?" Harry asked Hermione just outside the gate to Kadic Academy.

"A girl named Aelita Stones," she answered him. "You're going to look for her at King's Cross, right?" He nodded. "Good. You _should_ be able to spot her easily. She was the only girl in the entire auditorium to have pink hair."

Harry's stomach did a backflip, and his heart skipped a beat. He began breathing heavily to calm himself down. Of course it had to _her_. The one girl that might possibly give Ginny a run for her money in the looks department is coming to Hogwarts while Ginny is away. That is just perfect. Harry could only hope that the girl's personality would be so awful that the only thing he'd like about her would be her looks.

"Earth calling Harry," Hermione said to him loudly. "Come in, please." He shook his head and looked back at Hermione, whose eyes narrowed accusingly at him. But she said nothing more to him.

"So where's Ginny now?" Ron asked, oblivious to what had just transpired.

"She's getting her room set up," Hermione replied, her eyes not moving away from Harry.

"Is she going to come down so we can say our goodbyes?" Harry asked, avoiding Hermione's gaze and checking his watch. It was 11:00. Exactly two days away from heading off to Hogwarts.

"She will be," Hermione said coolly. "I'm going to miss her. Aren't you, Harry?"

Even Ron could tell it was a loaded question. He looked at Harry curiously. "What are you talking about?" he asked her. "Of course he's going to miss her! Right?" Ron's question was even more loaded.

"Absolutely!" Harry replied hotly, attempting to escape this interrogation. "Or do you want me to snog her for a while to prove it to you both?"

"Oh please no," Ron answered, making a disgusted face. "I just ate lunch." Harry shoved him and laughed, relieved to have avoided more questions.

"There she is," Harry said at 11:30 as Ginny came around a corner towards them. "Hey you!"

"Hey you, too," Ginny said, running up to him and kissing him. Ron made a gagging sound. Ginny, without breaking contact with Harry's lips, kicked a loose pebble on the ground at Ron's shin. He yelped in pain.

"That Aelita girl is quite a looker," Ginny said unexpectedly once she and Harry separated.

Harry panicked. "Really?" he asked nervously. "Hadn't, hadn't noticed." Hermione snorted. Harry kept staring at Ginny the whole time, but she cocked her head and smiled at him, knowingly.

"Sure you hadn't," Ginny replied sarcastically. Harry was becoming visibly concerned with the situation.

"It's okay," she continued to Harry's astonishment. "I trust you. I know that you will find other girls to be attractive while I'm gone. What makes me feel good is that out of all of them, you have chosen me. Now if you go and snog Aelita while I'm gone, then I won't be so okay with it." She kissed him again, reassuring her trust in him.

"No snogging other girls. Got it," Harry said, grinning at her. "Although it will be a little hard around Moaning Myrtle. I still haven't forgotten her offer to share her toilet."

Ginny stared at him, then said enthusiastically to Ron, "I think we know what's missing in your relationship with Hermione. Nothing screams romantic like sharing a toilet!"

"Not one word, Ronald Weasley," Hermione said menacingly, blushing a deep shade of red. With that tone, Ron needn't be told twice.

Ginny then asked, "Mind telling me why Harry and Ron have winter coats with them?" Harry and Ron shared a look and then proceeded to explain about what happened in Siberia.

"How'd did you guys get out of there safely when it was two against three?" asked Hermione, having never heard this story from them yet. "Or rather two against two and a cat?"

"The cat was able to shoot arrows out of its paws and create purple shields, mind you," Ron argued. "So it was still two against three. Besides, how do you think we got out of there so easily? What could have possibly aided our escape? Oh wait, I think I remember now." He looked at Harry's pockets, for emphasis.

"Again?" Hermione asked Harry. "I thought you were against using it."

"I still am," Harry countered. "The Death Eater, without using a wand, caused these smoky ropes to levitate me off the ground and hold me there, paralyzed. He was just about to cut me in half with his giant sword when _it_ arrived. I don't remember what happened next." Hermione and Ginny looked to Ron.

"One word," Ron said. "Wave. It took out all three of them. They just vanished in thin air. The Wand then filled the room with bright, gold light, and when the light was gone, we were in one of the bathrooms in this Academy."

"Did you find George?" Ginny asked.

"No," Harry answered. "But we _was_ there. We heard him yell out just before we saw those sparks next to the supercomputer."

"Did they say anything to you?" Hermione asked. "The Death Eaters, I mean."

"They said that they were keeping George for information about us," Ron said. Hermione's eyes widened. "Information for Franz Hopper."

"So there _is_ a connection!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Sure looks that way," Harry said. "But, Hermione, you were right. We shouldn't have gone without knowing more information about this guy."

"No I wasn't," Hermione countered. "You two learned that Franz Hopper _is_ involved with this _and_ is not our ally. We wouldn't have been able to come up with that in just one day, no matter _how_ hard we snooped around."

"Well, we aren't going back," Ron said to Ginny's apparent astonishment. "We are going to need to learn more about this guy before we even have a chance of rescuing George." Hermione smiled at him appreciatively.

Looking at her watch, Ginny suddenly said, "Well, it's noon. Time for me to go to lunch and make some new friends here. I sure will miss all of you."

Before they could hug her goodbye, a black Camaro, with a pink stripe down the center and the top down, pulled up to the gate a small distance from them. They immediately became impressed when they saw that Aelita was the driver of the car. She stayed seated in the car while two guys and one girl with long, black hair got out.

For a second, Harry thought he recognized the cat and the Death Eater from Siberia as the other two guys. But those guys appeared to be much older than the cat and the Death Eater, and they were considerably bigger. Harry couldn't shake the feeling that they resembled them too closely. He watched as the three who had gotten out of the car turned, smiled, and waved to Aelita before walking away.

Aelita glanced happened to glance back at the four standing by the gate and saw Ginny. Her beautiful smile faded almost instantly, and she looked away. She didn't look back again as she drove away.

"Where had _they_ been?" Ron asked accusingly, also noting the strange similarity of the two boys to the cat and Death Eater.

"They had free time until lunch, Ron," Hermione said, recognizing his tone.

"You don't understand," Ron argued with her. "Those two guys looked very similar to that cat and Death Eater we had just fought in Siberia _before_ their free time." They watched the boys walk in the direction of the cafeterias.

"Could be just a coincidence," Ginny told him. "But I'll keep an eye on them if you'd like," she added quickly, noticing the look on Harry's face.

"Please do," Ron said, looking away from the two guys.

Ginny nodded, then continued with her goodbyes. She hugged Hermione first, then Ron, and then finally Harry, giving him a nice long kiss as well.

"I'll see you at Christmas," she said, running off to the cafeterias. "I'll keep you posted!" She flipped her fake Galleon up in the air and caught it, just before turning away to join her new French classmates.

"Be safe," Harry whispered back to her, before Disapparating back to the Burrow.

* * *

The next two days passed by too quickly for Aelita. The second day was extremely boring for her since Jeremie and Taelia started school that day. So, she decided to spend the day packing. The list she had been given, however, was extremely short. It only told her to bring clothes she could relax in, no matter the weather outside. She would be provided a uniform when she arrived at the school, so she needn't worry about what she'd wear during the school day. She was also told not to worry too much about toiletries, as towels, soaps, and toothpastes would be provided to her. Other than that, there wasn't anything else the list said she'd need. She packed her laptop in her bag as well as the Norse mythology book her father had read to her when she was little. Earlier in the day, she had gone out and purchased a small French-to-English dictionary. While she knew her English was fairly decent, she didn't expect it to be up to par with her classmates. She also packed a football, just in case if she would need to keep herself occupied during her free time.

After she had packed her things, she just fumbled through the house. She decided to look again for clues to the combination of the safe. She really didn't find anything else relating to a fiery goblet and three torches. She had even tried listening for a click in the lock when she put in any numbers of 1973. None of them worked.

Seeing that it was 3:30 in the afternoon, she finally resigned her efforts and walked into living room where she had left her things. She began reading the book on Egyptian mythology again but could hardly pay any attention to it. She was getting nervous all alone. When she was with the others, she could get excited about what she might find in England. But now, she was worried that she was going to see X.A.N.A.'s face as she got off the plane in London. What if she walked straight into the two men who had been at the research facility?

She shook her head of those thoughts and decided it was best to try to take a nap before the others got there to see her off. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to sleep on the plane or in the hotel once she would get there. She drifted off to sleep, entering a dream world that was very foreign to her.

_She was walking through the halls of a castle, watching ghosts walk through the walls and chat with each other. She couldn't describe why she wasn't alarmed at the mere sight of the pair. She continued walking, smiling at some of the cute antics of a cat in one of the paintings on the wall. Again, she couldn't explain her lack of alarm._

_She soon found herself standing on the balcony at the very top of one of the towers of the castle. She breathed in deeply, savoring the cool autumn breeze that rustled her cloak behind her. When had she put that on? The sunlight twinkled off of the black lake below. A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and someone's head snuggled her neck affectionately. She turned around in the arms and smiled at the boy who was holding her._

_He had tidy, black hair, and his eyes were a warm hazel-brown. He smiled cheekily at her, flashing perfectly straight teeth at her. He ran one of his hands through her hair, the sun reflecting off of his green ring._

_"Told you this is a great place to forget your problems," the mysterious yet handsome boy said to her, still smiling._

_"What problems?" Aelita asked, also smiling._

_"Exactly," the boy replied. He kissed her tenderly. Her heart fluttered at their touch. He looked _so_ familiar, but she couldn't place where she would have seen him before. Her heartbeat began to race as she closed her eyes._

_When she opened them again, her heart was still racing, but it was because she was running. She ran past the same painting of the cat but paid no attention to it. She screeched to a halt as she found herself at that same balcony again. She could see the full moon's reflection in the lake. She spun around as she heard footsteps racing toward her._

_A different boy with red hair, similar in description of the second of the two men William had described, reached her first. She made an Energy Field in her hand and threw it at him. Without watching it, she jumped off of the balcony towards the darkness below. As the wind rushed past her, she slapped her bracelet. She could hear the first boy's yells._

_"Aelita! Aelita! Wake up, Aelita_! Aelita, wake up! Wake up!"

She awoke with a start and nearly punched Ulrich in the jaw, who had been trying to wake her.

"Easy there!" Ulrich said, grabbing her fist and saving his jaw. "You okay?"

"Uh," Aelita stuttered. "Ye-yeah." She inhaled deeply and looked at the clock above the piano. It was 6:00 already.

"Was it a dream or a premonition?" Yumi asked, who had seated herself in the chair across from Aelita.

"Hard to tell exactly," Aelita answered, stretching her arms. "I think it could have been like those nightmares I had of the wolves chasing me as Mr. Puck. But I can't be sure."

"It could be because you're nervous about your trip," Ulrich reassured her. Aelita shrugged.

"Come on," Yumi said, standing. "We already loaded your suitcase into the car. We're going to that deli for dinner before we take you to the airport." Aelita smiled and followed them out to Jeremie's car waiting outside.

* * *

Their dinner was delicious, and an hour and a half later, they were standing in the airport.

"I'm going to miss you guys," Aelita said, looking at all of them. "You all have been the best parts of my life since I left the Supercomputer." She then began hugging each and every one of them.

"Have fun in England," Sissi said.

"Everything will be alright," Yumi told her.

"Kick some major English butt in your classes," William instructed her. She laughed.

"See ya, princess," Odd said.

"You'll call whenever you can, right?" Ulrich asked her. She nodded.

"I love you, 'Lita," Taelia said, rubbing Aelita's bracelet.

"Be safe," Jeremie whispered. She wiped the tear that had fallen onto her cheek and nodded.

"Well," Aelita said, taking a deep breath to stop herself from crying. "Here I go!" Ulrich handed her the book on Egyptian mythology and Mr. Puck. She smiled one last time at her friends, walked toward her flight, and got on the plane.

As the plane took off, she looked out her window as the airport, Paris, and even spotted the Hermitage shrink away in the distance. She leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes to the humming of the plane, hoping to fall into a dreamless sleep. In the distance, she faintly heard thunder roar in discontent.


	12. Chapter 12: Warrior Abroad

**Chapter 12: Warrior Abroad**

"How's London so far?" Taelia asked Aelita on her cellphone.

"It seems to be like any other city," Aelita said as the tube train made another turn. She was thankful that she was seated. "Although I can't really see much of it when I'm underground."

As soon as her plane had landed, Aelita went to the indicated hotel on her itinerary, and spent the night. She was surprised that no one came to meet her at either the hotel or the airport. The following morning, after breakfast, she boarded one of the underground tube trains towards King's Cross Station. She had luckily found an empty seat before the onslaught of people going to work got on. She was getting a little uncomfortable since her pink hair continued to evoke stares from other passengers.

"So nothing interesting?" Taelia asked.

"Well, there was one little boy who was convinced my hair was cotton candy," Aelita replied.

"Oh dear. Please tell me he didn't try to eat it!"

"Almost. I had to tell him that it was my real hair. Of course, I forgot to say it in English. His mother looked as if I called her son a rude name. I quickly did my best to say 'This is my hair. Not for eating.' His mother calmed down, a little. The boy didn't seem convinced though."

"You should have shown him an Energy Field. I bet _that_ would get the message across."

"And alert the police."

"I don't think anybody in prison would try to eat your hair. Although I have heard stories where–"

"Oh darn! I have to go now!" Aelita said quickly, noticing that they were entering King's Cross. "I'll call you when I'm on the next train."

"Or in prison. Whichever one is fine," Taelia said, chuckling. Aelita shook her head, hanging up.

She picked up her suitcase and walked out of the train. People were bustling everywhere. Some had briefcases, others had purses, and others had nothing. Most of them were dressed in formal attire, making her casual red t-shirt and jeans stick out like a sore thumb if her hair hadn't already. Ignoring the constant stares, and occasional glares, she made her way into the main part of the station.

She found where the main platforms were and pulled her suitcase off to the side. She pulled out the envelope that had her ticket. She read the platform number: Platform 9 ¾.

"That's strange," she thought to herself. Shaking her head in confusion, she proceeded towards Platforms 9 and 10. She kept looking at her ticket and the platform signs, failing to notice that a slight fog had rolled in, obscuring some of the rest of the building from view. She looked up again and froze.

There was fog all around her. She could barely see the trains that sat at Platforms 9 and 10. It was eerily silent for a busy train station in London. No one was around her. It was as if she was all alone in the giant station.

"Hello?" she called out tentatively. She slowly made her way forward. "Is anybody here? Hello?"

She saw suddenly saw a man. His back was to her, but he was dressed in what appeared to be a station employee uniform. She quickly jogged up to him.

"Excuse me?" she asked. The man did not turn to her, just kept standing still and facing away from her. She pulled out her French-English dictionary out of her coat.

"Excuse me?" she tried again in English. The man still did not respond. She was getting frustrated.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" she said, tapping his shoulder. He quickly whipped around and grabbed her wrist forcefully. She winced as she looked in his eyes. She began to panic when she saw the eye of X.A.N.A. in them. She twisted about and yanked her arm free. Landing a punch in the man's face, she picked up her things and turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" a cold voice asked her as a specter materialized in front of her. She backed away from X.A.N.A. slowly. "I thought we agreed that you would stay focused on OPENING THAT SAFE!" His angry voice echoed off the walls of the station.

"You think I came here by choice?!" Aelita yelled back at him, putting on the bravest face possible. "I was _forced_ here! Besides, it's not like I am the only one who can figure the combination out!"

X.A.N.A. shot purple lightning at her, but she ducked and began to run away with her suitcase. She didn't understand why she felt the need to keep it with her, but she reasoned that it had things that she didn't want X.A.N.A. to get a hold of.

"Insolent, stupid girl!" X.A.N.A.'s voice echoed again. "I'm not just referring to you being here! I'm talking about your friends trying to save George!" The specter rematerialized in front of Aelita. She tried to stop but slipped and fell to the ground. X.A.N.A. snarled and shot lightning right at her again. She held up her hands to cover her face.

The lightning never hit her. Opening her eyes, she saw two pink orbs in her hands that were blocking the lightening from hitting her. She was making Energy Fields outside of Lyoko! She happened to glance at wrist; her bracelet was shining brightly on its own. X.A.N.A. was just as surprised as she was but then quickly grabbed her wrist as soon as the Energy Fields vanished.

"Regardless of the reasons," he growled at her, yanking her upward until his face was only inches from hers. "_You_ will be the one to pay!"

"HEY!" a voice yelled out in English. X.A.N.A. whipped around, still holding on to Aelita's wrist. He found himself face to face with the black-haired man from Siberia, although Aelita did not know it.

* * *

Harry had been waiting on the platform for Aelita to arrive. The itinerary Hermione had placed in the manila envelope told her to be on the platform by 10:30. Harry, later realizing that Aelita wouldn't know how to get on the platform, had walked back through the barrier to find her.

Just as he passed through, he saw a man gripping Aelita's wrist very tightly. Aelita was trying to be brave, but even Harry could see the fear in her eyes. He knew right then that something was wrong.

"HEY!" he yelled loudly. The man whipped around. His angry expression faded quickly when he saw Harry. He didn't have either wand out, but he did nothing to hide them in his back pocket.

"Let. Her. Go," Harry said firmly and slowly. The man was about to say something, when Harry felt the Elder Wand wiggle a bit in his pocket. The man seemed to have recognized it for some reason because a look of fear flashed across his face.

* * *

The fog slowly began to disappear, and Aelita could begin to hear the bustling of people. X.A.N.A. quickly let go her arm, and walked away. Her cell phone vibrated. She looked at the text. It read: "I'm not finished with you yet." She shivered a little.

She proceeded to pick up her things when her savior rushed forward, saying, "Here, let me get those." He picked up her things and handed them back to her. She gazed up at his face.

He was a little taller than her, but not by much. He had messy, black hair and was a little on the skinny side, but not as much as Odd. She caught glimpse of a strangely shaped, lightning bolt scar on his forehead. But what struck her most were his eyes. They were a brilliant shade of green behind a pair of black, round glasses. She blushed a little and immediately looked at the ground.

"Keep it together, Aelita," she thought to herself, her heart racing.

* * *

"Keep it together, Harry," Harry thought, his heart racing while he picked up Aelita's suitcase. He had been mentally preparing himself for her appearance all day, but it all went out the door when he stood next to her. He saw her look at her feet for a moment and wondered if she had dropped anything else.

"Uh, thank…you," Aelita said slowly, looking back up at him.

"Your welcome," he replied. He grinned a little, knowing that she was trying hard to speak English.

She smiled too and continued slowly, "Is it…that plain, no…obvious, that I'm…struggling with English?"

"You're doing well so far," Harry said. Her smile got even bigger. "Are you Aelita Stones?" She nodded. "I'm Harry Potter. I'm to help you get settled in at Hogwarts." Aelita's eyes lit up like Christmas had come early that year.

"So, can you…explain what this…means?" she asked, handing him her ticket. Looking at the numbers, he smiled.

"It'd be better if I showed you," he answered her. She frowned but before she could say anything, Harry continued, "Follow me."

* * *

Aelita followed Harry and watched him stand, facing towards one of the barriers between Platforms 9 and 10. She raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. Without saying anything, he grabbed her hand softly but firmly. Suddenly, he began running towards the barrier. Aelita had no choice but to follow him.

"This is going to hurt," she thought, shutting her eyes. But then a strange sensation passed over her, similar to when she entered a tower on Lyoko. Harry stopped running, and Aelita opened her eyes.

Gone were Platforms 9 and 10. They were now standing on a singular platform with only a small number of people bustling about. The major difference though was that they weren't wearing the business attires she had seen earlier. Most of them were wearing strangely colored robes. She looked behind her shoulder and saw a brick wall. Curiously, she reached a hand out and tried to touch it. Her hand passed through the wall like it wasn't even there.

"But, but, but," she began, stuttering in French. "That's impossible!"

"It is possible," Harry said. She looked back at him. "With magic," he added.

"There's no such thing as magic," Aelita replied, more to herself than to Harry.

"Then how can you explain something as impossible as walking through a solid brick wall without a scratch to prove it?" He challenged her.

She was about to say, "Computer programs," when she stopped. She thought saying that would create more questions than she would like to answer. She looked at the wall again. There was no evidence of any electrical power sources near it. No cables, no outlets, nothing. The more she looked around, the less and less she felt that electricity was even used in this place.

"I guess you're right," she mumbled in French. She saw Harry pull out a long wooden stick. She eyed it curiously.

"My wand," he explained to her. "Mind if I cast a spell on you? It will help with the language difference." She didn't understand what he meant but saw him raise the stick. He waved across her, and her head spun a little. She began to tip over.

"Whoa," Harry said, catching her. "You okay there? That spell can sometimes make you light-headed."

"I'm fine," she said off handedly. She quickly put her hands to her mouth. She just spoke perfect English without even thinking about it. She looked at Harry again as she stood up straight.

"I cast a spell on you so you could understand English easily," he explained to her, realizing she had not understood him the first time. "I hope you're not upset about it."

Aelita chuckled a little. "No," she responded. "That will make things easier to understand. Will I still be able to speak French?"

Harry nodded. "No problem at all," he explained. "All the spell really did was give you the knowledge to use English perfectly, without having to think too much about it. It would be as if you had been taught English and French since you started speaking. Come on, there's a lot that needs explaining."

* * *

Odd, Ulrich, Sissi, and William sat down at their usual table for breakfast that morning. Odd was ecstatic to learn they were giving everyone two large croissants instead of one. They saw the British girl pick up a tray of food. She glanced at them and walked over to them.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked in perfect French, smiling at them. Odd, Ulrich, and Sissi were stunned in silence at her fluent French. William smiled back at her and pulled up a chair for her.

"No problem," he said back in English. She raised an eyebrow at him and sat down.

"I didn't think very many people here could speak English," she said to him, still in French. "I was naturally pretty good at French at my old school, but I still had to study like crazy. I'm Ginny Weasley, but I suppose you already know that. Sorry it took me a couple of days to sit with you guys. I'm a little shy." They all proceeded to introduce themselves to Ginny. William casually put his arm on the back of his chair.

Odd, not wanting to be bested by William at his own game, quickly said, "So have you figured out where everything is? I'd be willing to show you around and give you a grand tour of the campus. I could even tell you why people call me 'Odd the Magnificent'."

Before Ulrich, Sissi, or William could say anything, Ginny quickly said, "Why do they? Would it be because of this?" She reached in her bag and pulled out an old _Kadic News_ newspaper. It showed the picture Yumi had taken of him and Ulrich coming out of the shower years ago. Odd turned pale while Ulrich's eyes went wide.

William, very interested in the picture, said, "My, my, my. I don't believe I've ever seen this picture before." Ginny frowned, clearly confused. "Uh, because of that fever I had that entire week. By the time I was better, it must have been old news since no one mentioned it to me." He smiled nervously.

"So help me out here, Odd," Ginny continued, picking up the newspaper again and analyzing it carefully. "What exactly do these people find magnificent? I'm confused." William and Sissi, unable to contain themselves any longer, busted out in laughter. Odd said nothing.

"You're shy, huh?" Ulrich asked, looking up at her.

"I didn't say how quick I get over it," Ginny quickly pointed out. Ulrich closed his eyes and shook his head in response.

"It's really a flattering picture," Yumi said, walking up to them and seeing the photo. "I really should have taken a photo of their reactions when they saw me."

"I assume you took this, ah, informative picture," Ginny stated. Yumi nodded. "Why didn't I see you this morning?"

"I live at home a few blocks from here," Yumi explained. "My name's Yumi Ishiama. You must be Ginny." They shook hands, and Yumi sat down next to Ulrich, who was still miffed about the picture.

"I almost had completely forgotten about that picture," Ulrich mumbled.

"Don't worry," Ginny said, putting it away. "I'm not planning on putting it up on my wall." There was a moment of awkward silence.

"So…" William began.

"Sorry boy, I'm taken," Ginny said to him, removing his arm from around her.

"You could have just said that and saved me from revisiting that picture!" Odd accused her.

"But what fun would that be?" Sissi asked sweetly. Odd didn't say anything and resumed eating his croissants.

"So what's your first class?" Yumi asked, taking a bite of an apple she had pulled out of her bag.

"Math with Mrs. Meyer," Ginny said, reading off a slip of paper. "Followed by chemistry, world history, and French literature. After lunch, my first class is gym with Mr. Morales." Everyone, except her, chuckled a little. "What?"

"No one calls him that," William explained. "He just goes by Jim."

"Or Jimbo if you're his friend," Odd added, perking up.

"Hmm," she mumbled. "Anyway, after gym I have art and English. Why _I_ have to take that class is beyond me."

"So you can help the rest of us," Ulrich said, his mood lightening. "Odd, Sissi, and I have the exact same schedule."

"Well, that will be nice," she commented, taking a sip of her milk.

* * *

Harry explained as much as possible to Aelita, although he wanted to save some of the better details for when she would arrive at Hogwarts. He explained how "Hogwarts School W&W" meant "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". He presented her with a trunk that already contained enough quills, inks, and rolls of parchment for the entire year, in case she decided to stay that long. He told her that she would get her very own wand and school robes tomorrow morning before breakfast.

"Why can't I get them when we arrive?" she asked, loading her suitcase into her trunk. She seemed surprised that it could fit fairly easily. Harry saw her pull a smaller bag out of her suitcase and slip it onto her shoulder.

"The train will be arriving by the time the sun has already set," Harry answered.

Aelita's jaw dropped. "I sure hope there's a diner on this train because I didn't pack a lunch nor ate a big enough breakfast," she said to him.

Harry chuckled and handed her a pouch filled with Galleons. "There's a trolley that goes up and down the train that you can purchase food with those coins," he said. He handed her trunk to one of the loaders. "Let's find you a seat so we can talk about –"

Harry was interrupted by many loud voices coming from the barrier. He looked at the clock. It was 10:50. Right when the Malfoy's were supposed to be dropping off Draco. He heard what sounded like angry shouts. Aelita was getting concerned at the noise. He _had_ warned the Aurors that some Death Eaters might make an appearance today. But did they listen to him? Absolutely not! It's not like he saved the entire magical world or anything of that sort.

"Change of plans," Harry said quickly, drawing his wand. "You go find yourself a seat. I promise I'll find you later." And like that, he ran off towards the loud voices.

* * *

Aelita got really uncomfortable by herself and boarded the train quickly. There were many empty carriages, and she slipped into one and closed the door. She didn't want to be bothered right now. X.A.N.A.'s appearance had shaken her. The fact that he could get to her in England _and _possess people was disconcerting, but since neither Jeremie nor Taelia had called her to let her know of an activated tower, she feared that X.A.N.A. already had a replica in a supercomputer in London or somewhere nearby. She pulled out her cell phone and called Taelia.

"Hey Sis!" Taelia's cheery voice answered. "Perfect timing! Jeremie and I just got out of class. I take it you're on the train to Hogwarts School?"

"Yeah," Aelita said, sighing nervously.

"What's wrong?"

"X.A.N.A. was here."

"WHAT?!" Aelita even heard Jeremie's gasp in the background. "But there wasn't any activated tower. Are you alright?"

"Barely," Aelita answered. She explained everything that happened outside of the barrier.

"Describe Harry Potter for me," Jeremie asked loud enough for Aelita to hear.

"Well," Aelita began. "He's taller than me by about a couple inches. He has untidy, black hair. He has glasses, green eyes, a handsome, ah, I mean, mature face."

"Sure you do," Taelia said sarcastically. Aelita didn't need to look at Taelia to know that her sister was smiling.

"Oh shut up," Aelita said, blushing a little.

"And I guess we _can_ make Energy Fields," Taelia added. "How did you do it?"

She sounded like she was going to try it when Jeremie hissed, "Not here!" He then spoke to Aelita. "Did you see anything on him that resembled a long, wooden stick?"

"Uh," Aelita hesitated. Harry had told her not to tell her friends about magic. At least, not until she was back home. "I don't think so," she lied, silently grimacing a little. "Why?"

"Because your description of Harry Potter matches William's description of the specter in Siberia that blasted him," Jeremie said.

"Yeah, no," Aelita countered quickly, cutting Jeremie off. "I looked into his eyes. There was no trace of X.A.N.A. at all. Why would X.A.N.A. have gotten nervous at Harry's appearance if Harry had been in Siberia?"

"Maybe it was an act," Taelia suggested.

"I doubt it," Aelita countered. "X.A.N.A. hasn't been one for melodramatics."

"Just be careful, okay?" Jeremie asked. "Keep us posted."

Aelita groaned. "There's something else," she said. "There aren't any cell towers or Internet at the school. They've managed to train owls to send mail. I'll write as often as I can."

"Well," Taelia said. "That changes things. Do you think you could mail a flash drive of some of your programs? We might end up needing them."

"No problem," Aelita said. She heard voices in the hallway outside of her carriage. "Listen, I've got to go now. I miss you guys already."

"Go have fun," Taelia told her. "We'll be waiting to hear from you." She hung up and looked out the window. She heard a knock from her carriage door. Turning, she saw a boy with extremely blond hair standing there, staring at her. She stood up and opened the door.

"Are these seats taken?" the boy asked.

"No," she answered, offering the seat to him. He walked in quickly behind her. She jumped when he slammed the door quickly.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I just don't want anyone to know I'm in here."

"Why?" Aelita asked, but he shook his head, not wanting to answer. She looked the boy over as he sat down nervously in the seat across from her. He didn't move away from the door, however. His blond hair was very neat and crisp. His eyes were a light-ish grey color. His black clothing had an expensive look to them and weren't like any Aelita had ever seen before. He seemed like a very tightly wound up individual, glancing at the door every so often like it was about to explode. His thumb was fidgeting with something on his ring finger on his right hand.

Aelita's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. He was wearing the same ring from her dream! It was the same emerald green color. It had the same shape. She stared at it intently, trying to get a closer look at it without him noticing.

He looked at her and saw her staring at his ring. He chuckled and said, "You know, I would be willing to let you get a closer look if you would ask."

Aelita blushed and gave a little smile. He smiled too, flashing perfectly straight, white teeth. The more she looked at him, the more he reminded her of the boy in her dream, save for the hair and the eyes. Her heart began to race a little at the thought. He slid along the seat until he was directly across from her. He took off his ring and handed it to her.

"Mind if I take a look at your bracelet?" he asked. She shook her head and slipped off her bracelet. He seemed genuinely interested in it. She inspected the ring. Something about it made her want to slip it on.

"I don't know," the boy said to her. "I don't think it matches my hair as much as yours. What do you think?" She looked up and laughed. He had slipped her bracelet onto his wrist, which made him look silly with a bright pink bracelet on his wrist while wearing his all black attire.

"Hmm," she said, amused. "Maybe with a few adjustments, it could work." He squinted his eyes mischievously at her before taking out his wand.

"You mean like this?" he asked her, waving his wand over his head. His blond hair instantly turned bright pink. Aelita laughed harder than she had in ages.

"Not quite what I meant," she said, finding it difficult to look at him and keep a straight face. "Before you change it back, do you mind if I get a picture of this?" He smiled and nodded.

She pulled out her cell phone and turned the camera on. Confusion flashed across his face briefly before she pointed the camera at him. He then struck a pose. His eyes were looking up at a corner, his face made the impression that he was deep in thought, and he rested his chin on one of his hands. As soon as Aelita got the picture, he relaxed and changed his hair back.

"My name's Draco," he said, extending his hand towards her. "Draco Malfoy."

"Aelita," she said, shaking it. "Aelita Stones."

"So tell me, Aelita," Draco asked, sitting next to her. "What is that thing?" He pointed at her cell phone.

"Oh this? It's my cell phone. It can act as a camera, too. Want to see how you looked?"

Draco nodded tentatively. She showed him the picture, and he busted out laughing.

"That's funny," he said. "But I thought phones were things Muggles used to contact each other."

"Muggle," Aelita repeated. "You mean those who don't use magic?"

Draco looked at her curiously. "More like those who can't use magic _and_ don't know magic exists," he said. "Didn't you know that already or are your parents Muggles?"

Aelita became very still. She knew that question would be asked. She had been thinking about it on the plane. She couldn't just say that her mother had been kidnapped and her father was killed by an evil computer virus that wanted to take over the world.

"I…I," she stuttered a bit. Draco narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. My father is dead, and my mother has been missing for several years. You could say that Muggles raised me for the majority of my life. I'm not going to know a whole lot about magic society. If that is a problem for you –,"

"No, no, no!" Draco said quickly, wrapping an arm around Aelita. "I didn't mean it like that." He paused for a moment and continued, "I'm sorry about your parents. Let's talk about something else, like why I haven't seen your pretty face on this train before."

Aelita blushed and began explaining the foreign exchange program. Draco seemed very interested about Kadic and asked all sorts of questions. He asked a lot of questions about the meals and the classes she took. The whole time, Draco never let go of her. They failed to notice the train beginning to move.

* * *

Harry ran forward through the crowd. He saw Draco run off and jump onto the train. He shoved his way past another group of people before he came upon the source of the commotion.

Ron and Hermione were standing in front of Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, wands raised and pointed at a group of individuals who continued to yell and shout insults at them. What concerned Harry the most was that these individuals weren't Death Eaters. They appeared to be people who were angry at the actions of the Malfoy's in the past couple of years.

"She kidnapped my family!" a woman accused Mrs. Malfoy.

"My son was tortured because of you!" a man yelled.

"Look! It's Harry Potter!" another woman yelled. "_He_ will make them pay for their crimes!"

Harry didn't respond and walked over to Ron and Hermione. The crowd kept yelling, and Harry noticed a man unconscious on the ground a few feet away.

"Has anything happened?" he whispered.

"That poor bloke on the ground over there tried to wrestle Draco off of the train," Ron answered, also whispering. "Hermione took care of him."

"Other than that, nothing," Hermione whispered. "What can we do?"

"Are _any_ Aurors coming?"

"Hermione sent a Patronus to the Ministry as soon as we got to the station. They haven't responded." Harry nodded and turned to the crowd. He hated public speaking, but their behavior was getting to be too much.

"If everyone would please calm down for a minute," he yelled out. No response. He raised his wand, shooting red sparks in the air and making a loud booming noise. They stopped immediately.

"Now look here," Harry said. "Do you honestly think that Minister Shacklebolt would allow the Malfoy's roam freely if he felt that they hadn't suffered enough punishment?"

"Fudge did!" a man called out.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt is the farthest thing from Cornelius Fudge," Harry countered. "Besides, Voldemort –," he paused as the crowd twitched with fear. "–forced their only son to do horrible things. Think about it. _If_, and I only am saying if, the person _you_ looked up to suddenly forced your child to do things that are absolutely horrific. It would be torture, wouldn't it?" The crowd murmured slightly in agreement. "Now please enjoy this happy moment of having your children go to the best magical school in the world. Don't let your anger ruin today. Thank you!" The crowd began to dissipate, not completely satisfied but satisfied enough.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," he said, turning to them. "I would suggest you get home as soon as possible. Being out in the open will leave you exposed to more than just angry parents." The Malfoy's turned to leave when Harry placed a hand on Mrs. Malfoy's shoulder. "Thank you," he said to her. She looked at him curiously. "For what you did in the forest. I will never forget that, ma'am. I hope Draco is proud to have a mother as brave as you. I now I would be." Mrs. Malfoy smiled and gave Harry a small hug, much to his surprise.

"Thank you for protecting my family, Mr. Potter," she said to him. "You and all of your friends will always be welcome in our home. Please keep an eye on Draco, will you?" Harry nodded. "Thank you." And with that, they walked back through the barrier. Hermione followed closely behind, making sure they would get home safely.

"Blimey," Ron said to Harry. "If I had known that saying I would be proud of Malfoy's mother would make me welcome in their home, I would have said it ages ago." Harry snorted. "Where's Aelita?"

"Somewhere on the train," Harry answered. "I told her I'd find her later."

"I bet you did," Ron uttered, smirking. Harry shoved him. Hermione chose that moment to walk up to them.

"Bet you did what?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Nothing," he replied a little too quickly.

"Is Aelita on board?" she asked. Harry nodded. "Good. I wouldn't want her to witness that. A couple Aurors arrived as we were walking. They offered to take them home. After making sure I knew who they were, I left them so I wouldn't miss the train."

"Speaking of which," Ron added, hearing the whistle blow. "Time to get on!" The trio walked up to the nearest coach, having already loaded their trunks earlier that day, and walked inside. They stood in the hallway for a minute, looking back out onto the platform.

"Do you think this year will finally be a quiet one for us at Hogwarts?" Harry asked the other two as the train began to move.

Hermione laughed and said, "It wouldn't matter if we had one more year or ten more years, we would _still_ find a way to make each year filled with danger."

"The mysteries of Hogwarts are waiting to be solved, mate," Ron stated, placing a hand around Hermione's waist. "Someone's got to solve 'em."

"But not unless we have to," Hermione said cautiously, but then added, "Granted, we _will_ have to but that's besides the point." They laughed together.

"Come on," Harry said. "Let's go find Aelita."

"You two go ahead," Hermione said, walking away from them. "I'm going to make sure Draco is okay."

"Do we really have to be nice to him?" Ron whined. She rolled her eyes and walked out of sight.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you to those you have reviewed. As always, I ask for your thoughtful opinions on this chapter. Please and thank you!**_


	13. Chapter 13: Finally Safe

**_A/N: Here's the next chapter. Thank you to the one person who reviewed. For the rest of you, I ask the same as I always do: Please review! Hope you enjoy this one._**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Finally Safe**

Draco concentrated on the screen of Aelita's laptop. He pressed the keys just like Aelita showed him. He paused for a moment and clicked on the track pad. His eyes followed the penguin head as it landed perfectly on the headless penguin body.

"Got it!" he said in triumph, beaming at his success.

"I told you it wasn't that difficult of a game," Aelita said, smiling and taking her laptop back before he knocked it over. "Trust me, there are more difficult ones out there."

"Do you have any of those?" Draco asked. He felt like he was a little boy in Honeyduke's. He had never felt like this around anyone before. He wasn't even like this around his parents when he was younger, but for some reason, this girl made him act like that.

"No I don't," she answered him. "But if you want, when we get to Hogwarts I can teach you how to write programs and applications for computers."

Draco frowned. "Not that the idea doesn't interest me," he said slowly, watching her face. "But how are you going to do that? Were you made aware that your computer and cell phone will not work once you're on Hogwarts' grounds?"

"What?!" she asked, looking alarmed. "No! Sorry Draco, but your lessons are going to have to wait I guess." She reached into her bag and pulled out a very small and rectangular object. She pulled a cap off of it and stuck into the computer.

"What is that?" he asked.

"It's called a flash drive," Aelita explained, not taking her eyes off the screen. "I can store things that are on my laptop onto the flash drive. Since I obviously won't be able to make any use of my laptop at Hogwarts, I going to need to mail this flash drive to my friends back home. There are things that they need that I forgot to give them." Draco watched in amazement as she typed faster than he could possibly imagine attempting.

"Draco," she said, looking at him with a sad smile. "Some of these things on here are a little too personal for you to see right now."

"I understand," Draco said, taking off his overcoat. "I'm going to get us something to eat. That okay?"

"Definitely!" Aelita replied.

Smiling, Draco stood up, stretched his arms, opened the door to their carriage, walked out into the hallway, and closed the door behind him. He looked up and down the train, trying to remember from which direction the trolley originated. Remembering that it was up at the front, he began to slowly make his way up there.

He found himself thinking about Aelita. He really enjoyed being in her presence. Something about her brought out a side of him that he didn't even know existed. He felt genuinely happy around her, a feeling that was long overdue. He was so upbeat that he remained completely ignorant of the stares he was getting from some of the other students onboard.

He eventually found the trolley and was able to finagle two sandwiches out of the woman as well as a couple boxes of Chocolate Frogs and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, paying for it all of course. He was just making his way back when he heard a girl call out his name. Turning around, he was surprised to see Hermione Granger walking up to him.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," she said, pausing for a moment to catch her breath.

"Well, hello to you too, Hermione," Draco greeted her, raising an eyebrow. She was about to continue, when she stopped and gaped at him.

"Did…did you just call me 'Hermione'?" she asked him incredulously.

"That's your name, isn't it?" he replied. "But if you don't like me calling you that –."

"No," she interrupted him. "I wouldn't mind at all." She paused for a moment, apparently trying to study him, before continuing. "Your father asked me to give this to you." Draco was suddenly surprised to find Hermione hugging him. He sighed and hugged her back, knowing that the hug came from his father.

"He hopes that it will be well received," Hermione said, stepping back.

"Thanks," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. She suddenly got a funny expression on her face as she stared at his raised arm. Confused, Draco looked at his arm and lowered it as fast as possible. He was still wearing Aelita's pink bracelet! His face started to get hot as he blushed bright red.

"May I ask why you are wearing that?" Hermione asked him.

"It belongs to the girl in my carriage," Draco mumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "I was joking around with it and forgot to take it off."

"Draco Malfoy joking around," Hermione repeated. "Now I've seen everything."

He rolled his eyes, but something made him say, "You know, it is only the two of us in there. If you, Ron, and Harry haven't yet found a place to sit, you're more than welcome to join us."

Hermione was clearly taken aback at Draco was saying. "I'd have to talk to the other two about it," she began.

"Talk to the other two about what?" Ron Weasley asked from the other end of the car. Harry Potter followed closely behind.

* * *

Hermione was standing next to Draco Malfoy when Harry and Ron walked up to them. Draco had his arms folded across his chest, and his face looked a little red.

Harry walked over to Draco and whispered, "Are you alright?"

"From this morning, you mean?" Harry nodded. "While I appreciate the gesture, Harry, I have already put that in the back of mind. I'm not even thinking about it." Harry stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Yes, he just called you by your first name," Hermione said to him, reassuring what he just heard. "He had just invited us to join him in his carriage. Him and his lady-friend whose pink bracelet he's wearing." Now, Harry understood why Draco's face was a little red as Draco blushed again.

"You know, I'd be more than willing to take you up on your offer," Harry told Draco. "But we promised someone we'd sit with her on the ride up to Hogwarts."

Draco looked a little disappointed. "Okay then," he said as they began to walk away. "You would've liked her. She's a new girl this year. She's part of this foreign exchange program with her Muggle school in France." The three stopped dead in their tracks.

"Does she have pink hair by any chance?" Hermione asked. Draco frowned and nodded. "That's who we're looking for!"

"Then I guess that means I better show you where she is," Draco suggested, gesturing for them to follow him.

After a little bit of walking, Draco opened the door to a carriage and walked in. Hermione glanced back at Harry and Ron before following. Sure enough, there sat Aelita who was putting what looked like a laptop into her bag. She eyed Ron and Hermione, but her face lit up with recognition when she saw Harry.

"If this is lunch," Aelita said, turning to Draco as he sat down next to her. "What is dessert going to entail? A parade?" Draco snorted and smiled. It wasn't a smirk like Harry was used to seeing but a genuinely happy smile. Maybe Draco hadchanged for the better.

"They were looking for you so I wasn't about to lead them astray," Draco said to her, handing her a sandwich and Chocolate Frogs. "I brought you lunch and dessert for you."

"Now _this_ is something I can get away with eating up," she said. Her eyes went wide in horror as she realized what she just said. Draco's, Harry's, and Ron's eyebrows shot up. Hermione began to chuckle.

"No! That came out wrong! No!" Aelita cried, her face turning redder than her hair. She covered her face with her hands and began laughing herself. Draco put an arm around her, laughing. The dragon inside of Harry growled with displeasure at the sight.

"I'm tired," Aelita moaned in defeat, still very embarrassed as she leaned onto Draco's shoulder. "I surrender!"

"Aelita, these are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," Harry said as he gestured to the other two.

"Weasley," Aelita muttered, then asked Ron, "You wouldn't happen to be related to Ginny Weasley, would you?"

"She's my younger sister," Ron said.

"I see," Aelita commented, opening her sandwich and taking a bite. She eyed Ron's hair especially, almost as if she were analyzing it for some reason.

"Oh," Draco said suddenly, slipping off the pink bracelet. "I forgot to give this back to you."

Aelita laughed, put the bracelet on her own wrist, and said, "I bet you got some pretty strange looks."

"I had forgotten that I had been wearing it," he replied. "It wasn't until Hermione said something that I realized I had."

"Why was he wearing your bracelet?" Hermione asked Aelita. Aelita grinned, but Draco looked alarmed.

"It's quite simple really," Aelita began to explain, reaching into her pocket. "Draco was interested in my bracelet, and I was interested in his ring. While I was looking at his ring, he goes ahead and does this to make me laugh." She pulls out a cell phone and tries to show Hermione something, but Draco grabs Aelita's arm.

"Please don't," he said to Aelita, his eyes begging her not to show the other three. Hermione grabbed the cell phone out of Aelita's hand and looked at intently. Draco began blushing immediately as Hermione busted out laughing.

"What is it?" Ron and Harry asked together. Hermione just handed them the cell phone. On the screen, there was a picture of Draco holding his chin, thoughtfully looking up at a corner. On the hand that held his chin was Aelita's bracelet. But instead of blond hair, Draco had bright pink hair.

"Well," Ron began, but stopped. He was at a loss of words as he started laughing with Hermione.

"I think we could easily show Draco's 'professional' look to the whole school," Harry said thoughtfully, smirking.

"I think not!" Draco yelled, yanking the phone out of Harry's hands. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Aelita laughed harder. He handed the phone back to Aelita, folded his arms across his chest.

"You know, Aelita," Ron said. "Draco must think you are amazing if he would do _that_ just to make you laugh." Draco said nothing and stared at the floor intently, as if he was waiting for Aelita to respond.

"That or he just wanted to be nice to a girl he had never seen before," Aelita countered, smiling. Harry saw disappointment flash across Draco's face for a moment. Ron did not reply.

As Draco straightened back up, he and Harry made eye contact. Harry made a sideways glance at Aelita for a second before returning to Draco, who had repeated Harry's actions. Harry raised an eyebrow slightly, silently asking Draco if Ron had been accurate. Draco smiled and almost imperceptively nodded.

* * *

"We're going to start off the day with some football," Jim was telling the class. "Stern and Pichon, you two will be the team captains. Pick your teammates."

Ulrich and Herb stood up and turned to face the group. They began listing off names and pointing to people. Odd and Sissi were on Ulrich's team, Nicholas was on Herb's, but Ginny was one of the last two people to be picked.

"Hmm," Herb thought aloud. "Weasely." He pointed at Ginny. She looked at him with a curious expression and walked past him to join her team. They huddled up to assign positions.

"I, of course, will be forward," Herb said to the group. "How good are you at football, ginger?"

Ginny ignored the comment and replied, "Never played." Her other teammates groaned at her response. Hoping Hermione's lessons were accurate, Ginny suggested, "But I've got a good arm. I could be keeper."

Herb laughed and said, "Sure! That way, if we lose, we can blame you for it!" Ginny walked away from the huddle towards the goal.

Jim blew the whistle for Herb to kick off, and Ginny thought his twig-like legs were going to snap from kicking the ball. The ball looked softer than a Quaffle, so she hoped that blocking the goal with her body would not be as painful. She almost laughed when Sissi easily stole the ball from Herb and began dribbling towards her.

She saw Nicholas try to get the ball from Sissi, but it looked like a hummingbird trying to stop a Giant. Ginny's defenders were absolutely useless, easily allowing Sissi to get past. About twenty feet from the goal, Sissi kicked the ball towards the net. Ginny leaped to her right as the ball hit her stomach.

She picked the ball up and ran forward. She threw the ball downfield. It soared over the heads of the other players, across the centerline, and hit Herb right in the back of the head. He fell to the ground, dazed. Ginny smiled smugly.

"That'll teach him," she thought, and the game continued.

No one scored on either team. Ginny's teammates were so bad that they couldn't even make it to the opponents penalty box – the other keeper appeared to be dozing as he leaned against the goal post – while Ginny was so good at being keeper that not even Ulrich could score on her.

With thirty seconds left to play, the three stars on the other team, Odd, Sissi, and Ulrich, all charged forward. They would keep passing to each other every time they received the ball. Ginny caught on to their strategy pretty quick. They were trying to confuse her and keep her scrambled.

Finally, as Odd broke through the final line of defense, he shot the ball towards the opposite corner of the goal. Ginny, once again, easily caught it. With fifteen seconds left, Ginny ran forward to throw the ball again. She noticed that Odd, Ulrich, and Sissi did not run back. They were walking, clearly not expecting to need to go back.

Smiling, Ginny launched the ball harder than she ever had the entire game. But she didn't stop running. She raced between Sissi and Ulrich, leaving them far behind. She didn't look back to see if they had started to run. The ball bounced in front of Nicholas, who began dribbling right towards a defender.

Ginny shook her head as she came up behind him. She ran by, tapped the ball away from Nicholas, and began dribbling the ball towards the goal. She heard Herb's frantic yells as she ran into the penalty box. The keeper still appeared to be dozing. The defenders were bearing down on Ginny, and, with only two seconds to go on the clock, she kicked the ball towards the goal as hard as possible. The goalie awoke with a start, but he didn't see the ball until it was already flying past him.

Ginny grinned broadly as her teammates rushed towards her and hugged her. She jogged back to the goal, the whole way getting pats on the back for her play from members of both teams.

"Ulrich," Jim called out. Ginny turned and listened. "There's two tenths of a second left on the clock."

"Not enough time to do anything," Ulrich said, smiling at Ginny.

"Then the winner is Ginny's team," Jim yelled out. Even members from Ulrich's team cheered.

"Nice job!" Odd said, running up to her.

"That was impressive!" Sissi commented.

"That takes guts," Ulrich stated. She already knew she had that. It sometimes comes with fighting Death Eaters in a battle. She began to walk towards the locker room to shower and change.

"What were you thinking?!" Herb yelled at her angrily, running toward her. "You left the goal _wide open_! You think you're some hot shot, don't you? I'll show you."

"Just name the time and place," Ginny called back, not even slowing her stride. "I'll be glad to whoop you any day." She closed the door to the locker room and left Herb outside, spluttering.

* * *

The Hogwarts Express pulled into the station. Aelita looked out the window in anticipation, trying to see where the school was. Hermione had already explained to Aelita how her classes were going to work.

Aelita was going to begin in the first year classes. Then, depending on her performance in those classes that week, Aelita would move up into more challenging classes. If Aelita proved she could handle it, she would begin taking the same classes as fifth – technically, sixth – years would in October. She hoped to be able to get to that level. She did _not_ want to be stuck in classrooms filled with ten-, eleven-, and twelve-year-olds.

She hopped off the train; wearing the robes Hermione had given her. She did not appreciate the black tie at all; it was uncomfortable. Draco rubbed her shoulder and took her bag with her computer in it, saying that he'd give it back to her after dinner.

Aelita was about to follow him when Harry held out his arm and said, "You get to go up with the first years." He pointed to an extremely large, heavily bearded man who was waving a lamp. She gulped and went towards the man.

"Firs' years! This way! C'mon now, don't be shy!" he bellowed. Aelita saw many of the first years looked frightened by the man's size. She couldn't blame them.

"Right then!" he bellowed again. "This way to the boats. Follow me!"

"Boats?" Aelita thought, remaining at the back of the group. "The train couldn't get us far enough so we have to travel by _boats_ to get there?" She shook her head and wondered why the rest of the students weren't following them. They walked through some trees and reached the bottom of a hill, and Aelita could see what looked like a small cove that opened up onto a lake. There were several dozen boats tied to docks. Inside each boat was a small lamp.

"Get into groups and be seated in the boats!" the large man yelled, stepping into a boat himself. Aelita waited until all of the kids could sit with one another. Nervously, she sat down into the empty boat in the back. Every now and then, one of the first years would look back and stare at her. She wished she had a wand and knew the spell to change one's hair color.

All of a sudden, the boats came to life and began moving on their own accord. The large man's boat led the way out of the cove, and Aelita's boat was in the rear. The boats, as soon as they came out of the cove, turned to the right and continued onward. The first years began to whisper and point as their boat turned. When Aelita's boat turned, she learned why.

They were now on a huge lake that went out in all directions. At the far end of the lake, the direction her boat was now heading, was a huge castle. It had dozens of towers, lights twinkling in the windows, and multiple stone bridges. Aelita's heart began to race as she realized this was the same castle from her dream.

"I wonder if that boy is here, too," she thought as dipped her hand into the cool water of the lake.

* * *

"I still can't believe it," William told Ginny at dinner. "You _actually_ scored a goal, as a _keeper_?!" Ginny nodded, taking a bite of her chicken noodle soup.

"You should have seen the look on Herb's face," Sissi said. "Priceless."

"And as purple as a grape," Odd added, not looking up from his own soup. They all chuckled.

Ulrich was about to say something when her phone vibrated. She read the text that Jeremie sent her: "Meet at Hermitage." Showing Sissi underneath the table, the two of them nodded.

"Well, we have to get going," Ulrich said, standing up and trying to come up with a reasonable excuse. "We promised we would visit an old friend who doesn't go to school here anymore."

"Mind if I come along?" Ginny asked, also standing up.

"Uh, actually yes," William answered. "We'll ask our friend if you can join us next time. Is that alright with you?"

"I guess so," she replied. "Well, have fun!" She walked away from them.

"I'll call Yumi," Ulrich said as they ran towards the sewers.

Within minutes, they had all arrived at the Hermitage. Jeremie and Taelia were waiting for them in the living room. They were going over the journal entry that Yumi had found.

"Are we here to look for more clues?" Sissi asked, a little disappointed.

"I think we should," Jeremie replied, looking up at them. "We spoke to Aelita this morning."

"How is she?" Ulrich asked expectedly, hoping that things weren't becoming too difficult for Aelita.

"X.A.N.A. attacked her," Taelia said, not looking up from the entry. "Or at least, tried to. Somebody stopped him."

"Who?" William asked, sitting down next to her.

Jeremie answered for her. "By the way Aelita described him, I can only assume it was the same black-haired thing from Siberia."

"Wait," Odd said. "I thought we agreed that it was a specter."

"Aelita seems to think that you were mistaken," Taelia explained. "She finds it hard to believe that it was X.A.N.A. Plus, when she looked into his eyes, she didn't see the eye of X.A.N.A."

"Next time we face them again," William said scornfully, clearly annoyed at Aelita's lack of trust in him. "We'll send her pictures."

"Nothing we said seemed to convince her," Jeremie added. "You know how stubborn she can be."

"I'm going to call her and tell her that I 'think' that _she's_ the one who is mistaken," Ulrich said, also upset and whipping out his phone.

"Stop!" Taelia said angrily, now looking up. "First, don't be getting angry at her for her suspicions. They _are_ reasonable. We have no idea what or who those people in Siberia were. Second, you can't get a hold of her. The school she's going to doesn't have any nearby cell towers or any Internet connection. Aelita will only be able to write letters to us. She said she'll send us a flash drive containing the files on her computer."

"Oh," Ulrich said sheepishly.

"But why do we need to look tonight?" Odd asked.

"So we won't give X.A.N.A. a reason to be angry at us!" Yumi answered him. "Seems like a good idea to me."

"Taelia and I will go to the factory and watch her father's video diary," Jeremie said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to find some clues there." Yumi looked at the journal entry.

"Do you have any idea what happened on your father's trip to Singapore?" Yumi asked Taelia, who nodded.

"My parents had met there," Taelia answered. "We already tried their wedding day, the day they met, as well as my birthdate and Aelita's birthdate as the combination to open the safe. None of them worked."

"Do you have any idea as to what would be inside the safe?" William asked. Taelia shrugged and shook her head.

"Well," Odd said, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. "Let's get searching!"

* * *

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" a very short man said to the first years. Aelita found it almost comical that the little man had to stand on a stool in order to be seen by the group of students. "I am Professor Flitwick. Now in a moment, you will walk through these doors," he gestured behind him, "and join your classmates for supper. But before you do, you will first be sorted into one of the four Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." Aelita noticed many of the first years cringed at the mention of the last name. Professor Flitwick stepped down from his stool.

"Follow me," he said. The giant oak doors opened on their own, and the group walked into a massive room. There were torches lit around the whole room as well as brightly lit candles floating about twenty feet above them. Aelita was mostly mesmerized by the ceiling, which seemed to show the beautiful night sky outside.

As she walked between the tables, she looked around the room. There were four long tables lined up side-by-side, apparently separating the different Houses. She looked around and spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting next to each other at one of the inner tables. They smiled and waved to her as she passed by. She looked around for Draco, wondering why he wasn't with them. She finally spotted him, sitting by himself at a table against the wall. He looked similar to how he had been when he had entered her carriage on the train. He wasn't really focused and stared blankly off into space. He smiled though when he saw her and gave her a wink.

The group stopped in the very front of the room at the edge of a small set of stairs. At the top of the stairs, there was a large table where Aelita assumed all of the teachers sat. There were two stools also at the top. Professor Flitwick climbed onto one, holding a roll of paper in his hands. Perched on the other was an old, raggedy hat.

"Now listen up!" Professor Flitwick said. "When I call your name, you will come forward, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will then be Sorted into your appropriate House." Aelita stared at the hat and raised an eyebrow. Surely wearing that old thing wouldn't be able to pick which House you belong in. "Phillip Banes."

A small boy with a freckled face and dirty blond hair stepped forward nervously. He sat on the stool as the hat was placed on his head. To Aelita's surprise, the hat began to move around on its own.

Suddenly, the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" The table to Aelita's left clapped and cheered. The boy excitedly jumped off the stool and walked over to the Ravenclaw table.

Professor Flitwick continued reading the names one by one. As the number of first years got smaller, Aelita became increasingly aware that more and more people were staring at her. Eventually, there was nobody left.

"Aelita Stones," Professor Flitwick read. As Aelita made her way towards the stool, someone to her left whistled loudly. A murmur went through the room. She sat down and spotted the perpetrator. He was seated at the far table, now on her right, and was grinning smugly. He couldn't have been more than fifteen-years-old.

Without thinking and with a big grin, she said loudly, "Pfft. Not a chance." The entire room busted out in laughter while the boy blushed and sunk lower in his seat. Aelita, laughing a little herself, looked at Professor Flitwick apologetically but found that he was trying desperately not to laugh as well.

"Settle down!" called a woman's stern voice from behind Aelita. The laughter died down, and the Sorting Hat was placed on Aelita's head.

_"Hmm, this is very interesting,"_ said a low voice coming from the hat. _"You are a very unique individual. Good sense of humor which you so elegantly displayed just now. Thirst for knowledge, a kind and loyal heart. Not exceptionally cunning, but cunning nonetheless. Very perceptive. Very brave, especially when someone is in danger."_ Aelita closed her eyes and thought of her father and how he had been so brave that he gave up his life for the destruction of X.A.N.A.

_"Yes,"_ the hat continued. _"Your father was extremely brave. You have those same qualities, Miss Schaeffer. Do not worry. No one can hear me except you. While I would usually sort you according to which House you match the most, your situation is in need of something different. You will end up needing what your House has to offer you._

_"So let's go through the list, shall we? You and your friends are already loyal enough to each other, so we can rule Hufflepuff out. While you are seeking additional knowledge, I believe the knowledge you desire can be learned from any of the Houses. Ravenclaw would not suit you either. That leaves Gryffindor and Slytherin. They are two _very_ different Houses. In Slytherin, you could learn how to be more cunning and how to possibly think the way X.A.N.A. thinks so you can gain an advantage on him. In Gryffindor, you may find other brave individuals who are willing to help you in the fight. I will let you decide between the two._

_"But before I let you decide, I have to warn you. I see that your have befriended Harry Potter and his friends. I would not, I repeat, _would not _tell them about your predicament just yet. Mr. Potter is particularly prone to jumping to conclusions before an explanation can be completely given. Without enough information, he could easily turn into your enemy."_

"What should I do then?" Aelita asked.

_"Wait until you believe they have reached a point where you can explain the situation to them without them branding you as their enemy. Do not brand them as an enemy either. You may need their help more than you realize. I would suggest that you share some knowledge you have learned from Potter and his friends with your own friends back home. I know you are good at keeping secrets, Miss Schaeffer, so choose what to share wisely."_

"Why are you helping me?"

_"Because your father was a great man, Aelita," _the hat told her. _"Now, which House are you going to choose? Gryffindor or Slytherin?"_

Aelita thought about it. If she went to Gryffindor, she could possibly prevent Harry from jumping to misinformed conclusions if he ever found out about her on his own. But there's still the chance that she couldn't. Him, Ron, and Hermione could easily be either allies or powerful enemies. She wasn't sure if she wanted to risk it by being closer to them.

But if she went to Slytherin, she could learn how to one-up X.A.N.A. and predict his next moves. She could learn strategies to fool X.A.N.A. into traps that would make him weaker. The Slytherins could prove to be strong allies. Plus, there wouldn't be a chance that they'd be her enemy. She felt that she could even be a positive influence on Draco, helping him to be happy and enjoy life. Why she felt that was important to her, she did not know. But, what if Harry, Ron, and Hermione eventually learn about her involvement in Siberia? They wouldn't need to think twice before going after her since she was in Slytherin. She knew that they felt that most of the evil people in the world were in Slytherin.

She thought long and hard, weighing the pros and cons in her mind. Finally, she thought to the hat, "I've made my decision."

_"Are you sure?" the Sorting Hat asked. "Are you 100% positively sure that you are making the right choice?"_

"Absolutely," she thought, opening her eyes.

* * *

Ron leaned against Hermione's shoulder, extremely bored and very hungry. Aelita was the last to be sorted, and that meant that the food would appear on the tables when she was done. Her reaction to that whistling, Ravenclaw boy _was_ very humorous and provided enough distraction from the lack of food. After five minutes of wearing the Sorting Hat and Aelita _still_ hadn't been sorted, Ron's hunger strongly returned.

"What's taking so long?" Neville asked Hermione, who was seated right next to him.

"I dunno," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I've never heard of a Sorting lasting this long."

"Why is it again that you and Ron couldn't be Prefects still?" Seamus Finnigan asked her, sitting between Harry and Dean Thomas. Ron could have cared less about being a Prefect again.

"We technically weren't students last year," Hermione explained, not taking her eyes off Aelita. "Not that I really mind not being a Prefect." Ron nearly fell off the bench.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Ron asked, sitting up straight and stunned at his girlfriend's response.

Before she could answer, the Sorting Hat suddenly yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" Relieved, Ron smiled and clapped along with his fellow Gryffindor's. But something caught his attention: Aelita's face. While her mouth made a smile as she walked away from the front, her eyes told a different story. Even from a distance, Ron could see concern in her eyes. It was as if she was on guard or concerned about being in Gryffindor. He had seen the look in Hermione's eyes before, like when she was concerned that she had made the right choice. But that confused Ron. What House you're in isn't up to you, right? Then, why was Aelita acting like she was having second thoughts on something?

She sat down across from Ron and next to Harry. She shook hands and introduced herself to many people. As the cheering settled down, Professor Flitwick stepped off the stool and waved his wand, whisking both stools and the Sorting Hat out of a door by the staff table. After he took his seat, Professor McGonagall stood up and announced for dinner to begin. Plates piled with food appeared in front of Ron, to his happiness.

"If only the plates of food would do that back at Kadic," Aelita said, grabbing a huge leg from the chicken between her and Ron. "Hermione, can you pass me those mashed potatoes when you're done with them? And Harry, could I get a couple of those rolls that are right next you?"

Within minutes, Aelita's plate had two bread rolls, a giant chicken leg, mashed potatoes, ham and green beans, a small salad, and an apple. Harry, Hermione, and Neville stared at it in disbelief.

"That's almost as much as Ron eats," Hermione muttered. Ron gave her a look.

"Oh this is nothing," Aelita replied. "You should see my friend Odd Della Robia back home. He'd be asking for a second plate."

"Neville," Harry began to ask.

"I already know what you're about to ask, Harry," Neville said, picking at the sliced ham on his plate. "And the answer is: things at the Ministry are moving slowly. It took more than half the summer to convince the other members of the Wizengamot to allow Hogwarts to stay open."

"Why?" Ron asked, bewildered. Neville shrugged.

"I think some of them felt that it would be traumatizing for the students to be here," Neville reasoned. "For some, their parents were killed in the battle. Being in the place that it occurred might make them forever mourn as long as they're here." Aelita dropped her fork.

"A battle took place here?" she asked, concern etched in her voice. They all nodded. "And how long ago was this?"

"Last spring," Ron answered quietly. Aelita's eyes nearly jumped out of her head.

"And when exactly were you planning to tell me that?" she said, rounding on Harry.

"Er…tonight?" Harry replied more as a question than an answer. Aelita rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Would someone who _isn't_ him explain what happened?" she asked.

Hermione and Neville explained the situation leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts, how Voldemort had returned to power and taken control of both Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic, and the duty of destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes the late Albus Dumbledore had charged Harry, Ron, and Hermione with. Ron and Harry then told her about how they and Hermione returned to Hogwarts last May to locate another Horcrux, how Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters learned of his presence in the castle, how members of the Order of the Phoenix as well as students and staff fought against Voldemort's forces, and the battle that ensued.

* * *

"Wow," Aelita commented when they finished. "What was Voldemort's ultimate goal, after killing you of course?"

"No idea," Harry answered. "He didn't _seem_ interested in seeking control of the entire world, but I doubt he never considered it."

"X.A.N.A. did and prepared for it," Aelita thought. "I bet Voldemort would have had a difficult time fighting X.A.N.A.'s forces if we never forced X.A.N.A. into hiding for five years."

The noise in the hall began to quiet down. Aelita looked around. A podium with a bronze owl adorned on it stood where the Sorting had taken place. A tall woman with a stern face, wearing green robes and a pointed hat, stood behind the podium. She must be the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall.

"Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts," she announced. "I hope all of you enjoyed your summers. To those of you wondering why you are back for an eighth year, I will explain.

"Due to the events of last year, myself and the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, believe that the material you learned was very strained and restricted. We do not believe that what you had actually learned could even count as a full year's worth of material. However, the Defense Against the Dark Arts skills, demonstrated by most of you last May, far exceed any O.W.L. examination that could be given. Therefore, the material for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class will be set at a higher degree of difficulty for all students." There was a brief murmur throughout the room as some expressed their opinions with one another.

"Also," she continued. "Please be aware that many Aurors have been stationed at the school, and we will take immediate action should they feel that the security of the school has been compromised. It is unfortunate that the war has not ended yet; Dark forces continue to try to reclaim the castle. Rest assured, your safety is the staff's utmost importance."

"Moving on," Professor McGonagall continued. "We have some changes in staff from last year."

Aelita felt something bump her foot. She looked down and saw a paper airplane floating just inches above the ground and tapping her foot. She bent down and picked up. Noticing that Hermione was watching her, she unfolded it slowly.

There was only one line of handwriting that read, "Hang back after dinner. – DM" Aelita glanced back towards Draco. He looked at her and winked, and she smiled back.

As soon as they had been dismissed, Harry offered to show her to Gryffindor Tower. Aelita declined and said that she'd be able to figure it out for herself.

"Okay," Harry said and then lowered his voice. "The password is Tauflock." She gave him an odd expression, but he only smiled and walked away. She waited until only a handful of students were left in the Great Hall before she began making her way towards Draco.

"Hey," she said, sitting down next to him and ignoring the look a Slytherin second year was giving her.

"Hey," he mumbled, not really looking at her. "I've got your bag." He handed it to her, and she slipped it on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You're in Gryffindor and I'm in Slytherin," Draco answered quickly. "I know that doesn't make sense to you, but all you need to know is that Gryffindors and Slytherins typically don't get along."

"And what if I told you the Sorting Hat told me that I had a 50-50 shot of being in either house?" Aelita asked him, not approving of his thoughts. Draco looked up at her, clearly surprised.

"Really?" he asked.

She nodded, but then said, "But does it really matter what house we're in? I was never made aware of any rules saying that Slytherins and Gryffindors can't be friends." Disappointment flashed across Draco's face only for a second as he looked away from her, and she added quietly, "Or more."

Draco looked up again and stared at her intently, trying to determine if he had really heard what he thought he heard. Aelita just smiled back at him. He smiled and visibly relaxed.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Let me put it this way," she said, standing up. "From what I gather about Ron, he often doesn't notice anything unless it's blatantly obvious." Draco laughed and stood up with her. "But I'm not ready to rush into something more just yet. I just need to spend more time with you. One day is not going to cut it."

"I understand," he replied. They proceeded into the Entrance Hall. "Well, I don't know where Gryffindors go, but there are some heading up over there. Goodnight." He squeezed her hand affectionately and then walked towards the Dungeons with a spring in his step. She smiled and followed the other Gryffindors.

She thought about everything that she had learned in that one day: a war is still raging on, the Sorting Hat told her not to tell others about X.A.N.A. just yet, Gryffindors and Slytherins don't get along, and magic exists! But she was going to play things by ear. As soon as Neville had mentioned Death Eaters, she knew that they probably knew George. But she was going to follow the Sorting Hat's advice. Telling people that she knew about George would likely create more problems than fix them.

She was so lost in thought that she failed to acknowledge the moving portraits, the ghosts floating about, or the fact that she had to give the password to a picture so it could swing open and allow her to enter the Gryffindor Common Room. Upon walking in, Hermione immediately directed her to the Girls' Dormitory. Aelita was pleased to find all of her belongings in the room.

Getting ready for bed, she couldn't help but look out into the night sky. Everything seemed peaceful. But her heart froze when she saw what appeared to be a large specter approaching the castle. But there must have been some sort of spell protecting the castle because the specter soon dissolved in thin air, leaving no trace.

"Guess you can't get to me in here, X.A.N.A.," she muttered to herself. She climbed into bed and fell asleep, feeling safe at last.


End file.
